FIRST FRUITS. 



427 



J. H. Hale, of Connecticut, is special agent of the 

 nth Census Bureau to investigate certain horticultural 

 interests. General matters of fruit-growing are includ- 

 ed in the general schedules. Mr. Hale's topics are five : 

 the nursery business, semi-tropical fruits, seed-farms, 

 truck farms, and the florists' business. The greatest 

 efforts will probably be given to semi-tropical fruits and 

 nursery statistics. Truck-farming is to receive first atten- 

 tion, however, and investigation in this direction will 

 probably be completed this fall. As a preliminary labor, 

 a directory is being made of all horticulturists in the 

 .nation who cultivate one-fourth acre or more. Mr. Hale 

 is one of our most energetic nurserymen and pomolo- 

 gists, and the Census Bureau is to be congratulated that 

 it has secured so good a man for work of such vast im- 

 portance as this. 



The third flower show of the Chicago Florist Club 

 will be held next November. The following premiums 

 are offered for chrysanthemums : 



Class. 



Best 6 white 

 " 6 yellow 



13 



6 pink 



" 6 red 



" specimen white 



*' yellow 



" " pink 



" " bronze 



" " red 



" 2 standards, white 



" 2 " yellow 



" 2 " pink 



"2 " any other color . . . 



(Standards must be grown with at least 

 ist. 



14. Best 50 plants grown to single stem 



in not over 6-inch pots . . . $50 00 



15. Best 50 plants naturally grown in 



not larger than 8-inch pots . . 50 00 



1st. 

 $20 00 

 20 00 

 20 00 

 20 00 

 6 00 

 6 00 

 6 00 

 6 00 

 6 00 

 15 00 

 15 00 

 15 00 

 15 00 

 ,^0 inche 

 -'(/, 



2d. 

 $12 00 

 12 00 

 12 00 

 12 00 

 4 00 

 4 00 

 4 00 

 4 00 

 4 00 

 10 00 

 10 00 



10 GO 



10 00 



s clear 



$8 00 

 8 00 

 8 00 

 8 00 

 2 00 

 2 00 

 2 00 



2 GO 



2 00 



6 00 



6 GG 



6 00 



6 OG 



stem.) 



J35 GG $20 GG I15 00 

 35 GO 20 00 15 GG 



Jd. 



CUT BLOOMS. 2li. 



16. Best general display of cut chrysanthe- 



mum blooms, both quality and quan- 

 tity to be considered in making the 



award ... I25 00 $15 go $ig 00 



17. Best collection cut sprays in vases, one of 



a kind i,5 00 lo og 5 go 



18. Best 12 naturally grown sprays 5 gg 3 go 2 og 



19. Best iGG blooms, two of a kind 20 og 10 og 5 go 



20. Best 12 blooms, one of a kind 5 00 4 go 3 00 



The Gray Memorial Botanical Chapter of the 

 Agassiz Association was founded two and a half years 

 ago, especially to aid those botanists who, remote from 

 large libraries and herbaria, find their study often beset 

 with difficulties which the more favored Jiabitues of school 

 and college do not encounter. The design of this asso- 

 ciation, as stated in the constitution, is "mutual assist- 

 ance in the study of botany by means of correspondence 

 and the exchange of specimens." Not the least of its 

 benefits is the enthusiasm engendered, which isolated 

 students do not always possess. Any lover of botany 

 may become a member by making application to the 

 president, stating briefly his progress in the study and 

 means for pursuing it, and thereupon receiving the unan- 

 imous consent of the executive council, which includes 

 the officers and two directors elected annually. The 

 annual fee is fifty cents, but amendments are now pend- 

 ing to make it $1. Members are required to report 



quarterly, either recounting their progress during that 

 time or describing some collecting trip, the flora of some 

 region visited by them or a plant studied. At present 

 there are 45 members in 22 states and territories. Pres- 

 ident, G. H. Hicks, Owosso, Michigan; secretary, E. L. 

 Byington, Boulder, Colorado. 



The summer meeting of the Ohio State Horticultural 

 Society was held June nth and 12th, at the Experiment 

 Station, Columbus. The following premiums for straw- 

 berries, etc., were awarded : 



First. Second. 



Best two quarts Bubach 52.00 Si.oo 



" Jessie " " 



" Haverland " " 



" " Crescent " " 



" " Wilson " " 



" " Cumberland " " 



Warfield 



Burt 



Pearl 



" " Eureka " " 



" " Miami " " 



" " Crawford " " 



Sucker State ... " 



" " Sharpless " " 



Cloud " 



" " Gandy " " 



Any other variety, if worthy, $5, 53, $2, 5i. 



New variety never offered for sale, if worthy, $5, $3, $2, %\. 



Display of roses, J5, $3, 52, $1. 



Display of other flowers, 55, $3, %2. fi. 



Display of plants, $5, $3, $2, $1. 



The Family Fruit Garden. — At a recent meeting of 

 the Columbus (O.) Horticultural Society, this subject 

 was discussed. Mr. F, P. Dill, a successful orchardist, 

 said of the apple: "Buy trees of a home nursery, se- 

 lecting straight, sound trees. Plant carefully in well- 

 prepared soil. Keep stock out of orchard. Fertilize 

 and mulch bearing trees. Spray just after blossoms 

 fall. I use about ten ounces Paris green to a barrel of 

 water, adding a quart of soft soap to each barrel. This 

 makes the poison stick better, and it is also less liable 

 to burn the foliage. For" Central Ohio would recom- 

 mend the following varieties for home use : Early — 

 Early Joe, Red Astrachan, Golden Sweet. Fall — Che- 

 nango Strawberry, Maiden's Blush. Early Winter — 

 Pickaway Rambo, Northern Spy, Carpenter's Sweet, 

 Grimes' Golden, Baldwin, Peck's Pleasant. Late Win- 

 ter — Ben Davis, Stark, Fink." Mr. Bonebrake said that 

 crowding the roots of a tree in a small hole was not 

 planting. Prepare ground carefully. If tree is bent, 

 put top to west, and if straight lean to west, so that wind 

 will not bend it too much to east. Trim top to corres- 

 pond to amount of roots. Three things are to be ob- 

 served in pruning : (i) To add to symmetry of tree ; (2) 

 to remove limbs which cross each other and rub ; (3) 

 not to trim bare, but simply to remove superfluous wood. 



In discussing the place of the pear in the family fruit 

 garden, Mr. W. J. Green said that during recent years 

 this fruit has been doing much better than formerly, and 

 that it could be grown with comparative safety now. 

 The trees should be planted in much the same soil as 

 apples, but must not be fertilized when young, as it 

 stimulates too rapid growth and induces blight. In gen- 

 eral it is better to plant standards than dwarfs. There 



