NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 33 



that the work of the coming season will throw some light 

 on this subject. For the present the only course to be 

 recommended is the trimming of the trees in the autumn 

 and the burning of the twigs thus removed, and the use of 

 fertilizers which will tend to produce well matured wood 

 rather than excessive growth. 



Discussion on Dr. Sturgis' paper: 



Question — Mr. Barnes: In what way does brown rot on 

 the peach live through the winter? 



Answer : In the twigs as well as in the mummified fruit, 

 which is largely the way it lives in our Connecticut peach 

 orchard. This rot spreads most rapidly where two or three 

 peaches are growing together ; one becomes decayed and it 

 soon spreads to others. You see this more in the plums, 

 that cluster together on a branch, where it spreads very 

 rapidly. I believe six out of every eight plums might 

 have been saved if two of them had been picked off. I 

 think a great deal is to be done in the way of thinning, 

 when the crop is large, to prevent a spread of this monilia. 



At quarter past twelve an adjournment was taken until 

 i-.o P. M. 



Afternoon Session* 



On assembling for the afternoon session the contents of 

 the Question Box and several topics on the Question List 

 were called up for discussion (see page iii). 



One question in particular excited the interest of the 

 Society, and provoked an earnest discussion — viz., "Will 

 Connnecticut's next full crop of peaches be profitable to 

 the growers unless we are better organized for proper dis- 

 tribution of it?" 



President Hale said: This is a big question; there is a 

 clean half million dollars tied up in the right solution of it; 

 better distribution is the key to most profit. 



