282 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



ducts of that country is honey to a larger extent than any other 

 country. There is an immense region of rich, black soil, 17,000 

 square miles in extent. The cattle of Russia are generally 

 inferior. 



PASTURES. 



A writer in the Magazine advocates keeping all pastures short 

 up to the 1st of July. Also, the advantage of gathering up all 

 the droppings of the cattle and carrying them oif the land, or 

 breaking up and spreading the droppings as soon as dry. 



DYING ORCHARDS. 



Dr. Wellington stated that there is a general impression in the 

 vicinity of Boston that the apple trees of that region are all on a 

 decline. No reason can be given; but many very fine old orchards 

 that were in their prime a few years ago, are now entirely dead. 

 One in particular, of five acres, has not a single tree left; 'the 

 average of the stumps measure a foot in diameter. Some of these 

 trees were old seedlings, that had been grafted in the tops with 

 Baldwin's scions, and others were nursery grafts, set out thirty or 

 forty years ago. The trees seemed to be diseased with what is 

 called black rot. Most of the trees affected are of the Baldwin 

 variety. Dr. Wellington thought it was an important question 

 now to ascertain whether the theory is correct, that all grafts 

 begin to decline after the parent stock is dead. 



The subject of orchards and fruit being important questions, 

 the Club adopted a motion of Solon Robinson to discuss the ques- 

 tion at the next meeting. 



COMPOSITION OF MILK. 



Dr. Waterbury gave an interesting statement of the composition 

 of milk and the class of animals that produce milk. All milk is 

 essentially the same, so much so that one animal may be sup- 

 ported upon the milk of another, though not always in a healthy 

 condition. The attempt to substitute cow's milk for the milk of 

 women for food of children, is the cause of so many deaths in 

 this city. The following .is an analysis of tow's milk. The 

 average of cow's milk upon ordinary feed of the form, will give 

 the following result : One hundred pounds of milk will give 



