S^Ije faabmn Portimltarbt 



VOL. IV.] OCTOBER, 1881. . [No. 10. 



THE MIDSUMMER MEETING. 



The Midsummer Meeting of the Fruit Growers' Association of 

 Ontario was held at Owen Sound on Wednesday and Thursday, the 

 24th and 25th of August, 1881. There was a very general attendance 

 of the members from that vicinity, and a goodly number from a 

 distance. The display of fruit was much better than was expected, 

 the crop in that section having been nearly destroyed by the untimely 

 frost which visited the place early in the summer. 



President Dempsey called the meeting to order, and after a few 

 words of hearty salutation to the members present, called attention 

 to the first subject, namely : To what insects and what diseases are 

 the plum trees liable in this vicinity ? 



The replies to this question indicated that the depredations from 

 insects were not serious. The tent caterpillar and other leaf-eating 

 insects were to be found occasionally, but they had not been 

 sufficiently numerous to cause any alarm or make it difficult to keep 

 them in check. The Black-knot was mentioned by nearly every 

 speaker as the most troublesome disease with which they had to 

 contend. It seems to have been more than usually prevalent this 

 year, and to have spread with great rapidity, affecting many of the 

 trees so very seriously that there seems to be no hope of saving them. 

 j\Ir. John Chisholm stated that it had been more serious in his garden 

 than ever before, and that the only adequate amputation in many 

 instances would be the entire removal and burning of the tree. He 

 thought that the disease thus far had been chiefly confined to the 

 blue plums. Mr. D. R. Dobie spoke of it as being frightful this 

 season, and believed it probable that the dry season favored the 

 spread of black-knot. It had attacked his yellow plums, such as the 

 Coe's Golden Drop and Washington, but was worse on the Jefierson 

 and McLaughlin, Mr. li. J. Doyle thouglit that trets growing in a 



