70 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Discussion. 



Mrs. H. L. T. Wolcott expressed a strong interest in the 

 subject of the essa}' and added that she was so fortunate as to 

 have seen the raspberry gall which, as yet, Miss Clarke had not 

 seen. Owing to the fact that her little granddaughter was much 

 frightened upon her first acquaintance with insects, Mrs. Wolcott 

 strove to overcome that fear by interesting the child in the curious 

 nature and habits of that class of animals, telling her little stories 

 about them. She taught the little one that galls were the homes 

 of insects. The young eyes were quick to discover them and then 

 would be heard the cry, "There's a bug's house." In her efforts 

 to instruct this child, Mrs. Wolcott found a livel}' interest in insect 

 life developed in herself. She spoke of the seeming trustfulness 

 manifested, when the insect has laid its eggs, by leaving them 

 to fate, as if imbued with faith that the Power which made it, 

 would take care of its progeny. She thought the next step in 

 the study of galls must be to find out whether the work of these 

 insects is injurious to the farmer or gardener, and, if so, to learn 

 how to prevent their depredations. It is the province of scholars 

 to discover the habits of the insects causing the galls, but it is left 

 for the scientific farmer — the intelligent tiller of the soil — to 

 prevent or counteract the mischief they may cause. 



Mrs. Edna D. Cheney said that she attended the school of the 

 late William B. Fowle, until she was thirteen years old. She 

 remembered with much interest the object-lessons in natural 

 history, which, anticipating so-called modern methods, he was 

 accustomed to give to his pupils. On one occasion he exhibited 

 some oak-apples, as the swellings on the leaves were called, and 

 hazarded the suggestion that the}' were caused by insects. The 

 great progress made since that time in the knowledge of insect 

 life and habits, through systematic study of this science, is shown 

 by the paper read here today. It shows how much can be done 

 by steadily pursuing the stud}' of one special subject. The fasci- 

 nating interest inspired by the pursuit, is one of the delights of 

 the study of any branch of natural history. 



O. B. Hadwen, Chairman of the Committee on Publication and 

 Discussion, announced for the next Saturday, a paper on " Chrj's- 

 anthemums," b}' W. A. Manda, Short Hills, N. J. 



