10 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEK. 



Jan, 



Meeting of the State Horticultural 

 Society at Bloomington. 



IST DAT, DEC. 2d, 1862. — MORNING SESSION. 



The society met at 10 o'clock, A. M., in Pvoys' 

 Hall, about twenty-five members in attendance, 

 embracing some of the best horticultural talent 

 in the Northwest. Those from abroad are : Dr. 

 J. A. Warder of Cincinnati; N. J. Colman, editor 

 of the Valley Farmer, and President of the Mis- 

 souri Horticultural Society; Dr. L. D. Morse, 

 President of the Meirimac Horticultural Socie- 

 ty; Geo. Beeler, delegate from the Indiana State 

 Horticultural Society ; and Mr. Hoffman, of 

 Crown Point, Ind. 



The President, 0. B. Galusha, called the meet- 

 ing to order, and addressed them in a very happy 

 strain for half an hour. A few of his remarks we 

 give below : 



"The season has again arrived when we are 

 accustoaied to meet for the discussion of those 

 topics which we deem of importance in promot- 

 ing the prosperity of the Society, and in cari-y 

 ing out the object for which it was instituted. 



Each occurrence of our annual gathering, 

 forms one of the bright pages in our individual 

 history, one of the cares in Jife's journey which 

 gladdens all our hearts, since all are here united 

 in the common bond of brotherhood, which is 

 ■wont to linkthose who are laboring to prpmote 

 one common end, to achieve one common object. 

 More is this true, when the end to be gained will 

 prove a permanent blessing to mankind, and 

 ■when the means to the end includes the cultiva- 

 tion of the tastes and the refinement of both the 

 mind and the body. 



It is therefore with mingled pride and pleasure 

 that I refer you to our history as a society, to 

 the good results in the various departments, to 

 the perfect harmony of feeling ■which has prevail- 

 ed in all our discussions, the deference which 

 each has paid to the others opinion, how much- 

 soever they may have differed in opinion from 

 his own; in short the good will with which each 

 has been greeted, and the uniform good fellow- 

 ship which has characterized all our intercourse, 

 whether in public or private. 



In reviewing our past history, we see much to 

 stimulate and to encourage, for the future. From 

 a little handful of zealous men, who six years 

 ago met in Decatur, when the Society had its 

 birth, its numbers has constantly increased until 

 they are now counted by hundreds, and our in- 

 fluence is being for good, in every township in 



*he State. Young groves are springing up which 

 are destined to add beauty to the landscape and 

 value to the farm. Here and there houses which 

 are being made attractive by embellishment in 

 their surroundings. Improvement is being made 

 in the varieties of fruit, and the modes of culti- 

 vating them. Our reports are eagerly sought by 

 cultivators who are about to plant orchards, 

 groves, belts, hedges or gardens that they may 

 learn what to plant — how to plant and how to 

 cultivate." 



The President referred to the fact that while 

 our fruits appeared and were really becoming 

 better in quality, yet the trees appeared to lose 

 vigor, and he would call the attention of mem- 

 bers to the propriety of doing something in this 

 direction to counteract the latter ; that we should 

 go back to first principles, and thus fortify the 

 weak points. 



Dr. Warder discussed the latter point at le^ngth, 

 and freely concurred in the necessity of paying 

 more attention to the hardiness of the tree; to 

 good and continuous crops, rather than a few 

 specimens of superior, showy fruit- That 

 in departing from the original type, they become 

 better in quality, while the tree was less hardy, 

 was a well established fact. We must turn our 

 attention in that direction, and, if possible, 

 increase the hardiness of the tree, at the 

 same time materially diminishing its quality. In 

 the departure from the original condition, we 

 both lose and gain — gain in richness of fruit, 

 and lose in the hardy qualities of the tree. 

 He referred to Van Mon's theory of new varie- 

 '. ties, and proved this most prominent theorist an 

 : impostor, preaching one theory and practising 

 ; another ; that his so-called system of the amel- 

 I ioration of varieties was a base fiction ; and all 

 the real facts were at variance with general re- 

 j ceived opinions on that point. Mr. Berkmans, 

 the successor of Van Mons, who practised a sys- 

 tem of hybridizing, had been able to impart vigor 

 and durability to his new pears, by a careful 

 selection of both parents and in his seedlings, 

 discarding all that had not firm wood and good 

 constitutions as of no practical value, notwith- 

 standing they produced a few specimens of su- 

 perior fruit. 



Mr. Overman followed in the same vein, re- 

 viewing the history of pear culture, and the vil- 

 lianous tendencies of the Van Men theory. 



Mr. Shaw said ihat in the production of new 

 seedling apples we should not form too hasty 

 conclusion, as it was often the case that for the 

 first fix or seven years the fruit varied both in 



^ ^:-^iJM 



