Sttfriisl’l Societies. 
CONVENTION OP THE AMERICAN PO- 
MOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
(RURAL EDITORIAL REPORT.) 
President Wilder, in his address, con¬ 
gratulated the Society on the progress that 
had been made in simplifying names, and 
urged that still further reform be made in 
this direction, until we shall have simple, 
pleasant, and as far as possible, single names. 
He knew of no better way to preserve the 
health of the masses than to encourage the use 
of fruits as food. 
President Barry said ours is not the only 
country in which a reform in this direction is 
needed. At a recent exhibition in England 
2,020 different varieties of fruits were exhibit¬ 
ed under 4 500 different names. 
Prof. Bessev, of Nebraska, in discussiug 
fungi, said the difference between the largest 
and smallest trees was not so great compara¬ 
tively as that between varieties of fungi. 
There are three classes of fungi: one lives 
only on dead or decaying matter; one only 
on living tissues, aud the third feeds on both 
dead and living tissues; and to the latter class 
all the injurious fungi belong. Bacteria be¬ 
long to the latter class, and are so small that 
over nineteen thousand millions could exist iu 
a square inch under the bark. The mildews, 
rust on leaves at d grain, blight, fruit rots and 
black knot in trees are all the results of fungi. 
The attacks of fungi call for the surgeon, and 
not for the chemist. Removal of the growing 
fungi is a removal of the disease. This 
teaches us to keep close watch of the fruit 
trees, and remove all diseased branches, burn¬ 
ing them as soou as seen. 
Prof. Arthur, of New York, said that in 
pear blight tl.e leaves do uot turn black until 
several days or weeks after the limbs have 
been affected, so that, in cutting off blighted 
leaves, wo should cut several inches below the 
last branches affected and also below any 
change in the appearance of the bark. He 
thinks the disease usually enters the trees 
though t.he blossoms, or through the very- 
young leaves or buds at the end of a grow¬ 
ing tw-ig. He does not think the disease is ever 
communicated through the roots, aud there 
is but very little danger of communicating 
it by the pruning knife. He considers blight 
on apple, pear and quince trees identical, be¬ 
cause he could easily inoculate one from the 
other. He is quite sure that close watching 
and the prompt cutting off of the diseased 
branches will keep the blight in check. He 
has no faith iu the efficacy of washes applied 
to the trunks. 
Prof. Lazenby, of Ohio, does not believe 
that smoke will have sufficient effect in pro¬ 
tecting against frost to pay for the trouble of 
the application. He has tried it ou several 
occasions, and could not recommend it. 
Ou the influence of the pollen ou the result¬ 
ing fruit. Prof. Lazenby said that while be 
had seen, in 1884, much to convince him that 
the pollen did exert a powerful influence; in 
1885, there had been no indication of such an 
effect. 
A. 8. Fuller claimed that the pollen did af¬ 
fect not only the size, form and color of the 
strawberry, but also the leaves and growth of 
the plants themselves. It seems to us that the 
advocates of this theory are currying the 
thing so far that even the people will not be¬ 
lieve the “fish story. 1 ' The convention seemed 
disposed to quietly let the advocates of pollen- 
ic influence have their owu way to see how 
far they would go, though the general verdict 
was “not proved.” Among strawberries the 
favorites were Crescent, Bbarpless, Manches¬ 
ter aud Wilson, iu the order named, among 
the older sorts; aud the Jewell was the favor¬ 
ite among the newer kiuds. Of blackberries, 
Taylor's Prolific had many- good words in its 
favor; the Evergreen was said to be of no val¬ 
ue, although a good grower; Early Harvest 
was killed to the snow line in the West. The 
Lucretia Dewberry is handsome, productive 
and of good size; but unfortunately it is of 
very poor quality. Shaffer, among raspber¬ 
ries, received much commeudation; notwith¬ 
standing its ba*l color, it is bound to come 
into favor;both North uud South it got only 
praise. Marlboro and Rancocas were highly 
spoken of; Crimson beauty- had no friends. 
In discussiug new apples, Peter M. Gideon 
said Yellow Transparent was injured in Min¬ 
nesota last Winter by 42° F. below zero. Prof. 
Budd says it is a good bearer and earlier 
than Early Harvest; but if kept till over¬ 
ripe, it has a tendency to crack aud become 
mealy. He thinks Wolf River 40 per cent, 
hardier than Fameuse. Salome, ho says, is 
not as hardy us the latter. He saw the 
Northwestern Greening within 18 miles of Lake 
Michigan somewhat injured. Mr. Gibbs, of 
Ontario, Canada, said Whitney’s No. 20is the 
best of all the crabs, all things considered, • 
THE BUBAL NEW-Y9BXEB. 
T. V. Munson, of Texas, in discoursing of 
American grapes, said all grapes have certain 
characteristics by which they can be truth¬ 
fully classified, aud he hopes to make these so 
plain that no trouble need be found in placing 
every grape in the family to which it right¬ 
fully belongs. 
In the discussion which followed. Prof. 
Budd, of Iowa, said the great mistake of all 
grape growers iu those countries subject to 
injury of vines by cold, was in planting too 
shallow. The vines should not be planted less 
than from 15 to 20 inches deep, so that if the 
surface roots are injured, the lower and better 
protected ones may support the vine until new 
roots are thrown out above. Of the newer 
varieties Wyoming Red had many friends, 
though its quality was declared poor. Niag¬ 
ara received almost universal commendation, 
fully corroborating the Rubal’8 often ex¬ 
pressed good opinion of it. Among those who 
had fruited it, aud who were well pleased, 
were Messrs. Philips. Hayes and Graham, of 
Michigan; Collins, of New Jersey; Augur, of 
Connecticut, and Barry and Hubbard, of New 
York. Empire State was highly mentioned, 
as were tbe Poughkeepsie Red and Ulster 
Prolific. Frances B. Hayes was favorably 
mentioned, though none present had fruited 
it. Centennial was not hardj- in the West. 
Victoria was well spoken of and is rapidly 
gaining ground; another instance of the cor¬ 
rectness of the Rural’s estimate of new 
fruits. Triumph gives good satisfaction in the 
South. Eldorado and Higbtand had no words 
in their favor, Vergenne3 appears to have 
warm friends and bitter enemies; but most 
friends. Early Victor was thought a good 
grape, a few days earlier than Coucord. Jef¬ 
ferson got praise only in tbe South; too late 
for the North. Moore's Early is gaining 
friends, especially in the West; it is very 
hardy, resisting both heat and cold. Lady 
Washington was reported to be loo late for 
everywhere, except from Virginia south. 
Prentiss is failing everywhere. Worden was 
by far the most popular of the black grapes; 
some called it better in quality than Concord, 
and others said, though good, it was not as 
good, being decidedly nore “foxy.” 
Prof. A. J. Cook, of Michigan, in discussing 
Economic Entomology, made it appear that 
we annually lose nearly $500,000,000 by insect 
depredation, and yet our Government, is doing 
next to nothing to inform our people, or to 
destroy the injurious insects. Most of the 
pests are imported, and many are yearly 
changing their habits so as to eat different 
plauts. The birds are the natural enemies of 
insects generally, and yet all our people seem 
bent on destroying these friends. We need 
that accurate knowledge of insects aud their 
habits, should be made common among the 
people. There should be more experiment 
stations aud more discussion among the farm¬ 
ers. Said be, "I know that Paris-green and 
London-purple are a perfect protection 
against codling moths, as well as canker and 
other leaf-eating worms.” He could not see 
why they were not more generally used. 
Field's Force pump was highly commended 
for use iu applying them. Burning the vines 
of strawberries soon after fruiting was recom¬ 
mended very highly as a remedy for leaf 
rollers, and also as a good means of destroying 
weeds. The plot is to be mowed, the leaves 
evenly scattered, and the whole burned over. 
Parker Earle, of Illinois, said the proper 
packing of fruits has much to do with the 
price they bring in tbe markets. He thinks 
tne quart box the best package for straw¬ 
berries; but advises that the boxes be made 
5x5 inches; then they need not be over two- 
and-a-balf inches deep to bold a quart. The 
raspberry box should be only oue-half as deep, 
holding a pint. We think these are val¬ 
uable suggestions. He also advises the use of 
the ordinary handled grape basket for ship¬ 
ping peaches. Mr. Field, of New Jersey, 
strongly advocates the planting of cocoa-nuts 
in Florida. There are thousands of acres 
there now idle, that can be made to yield an 
annual income of $500 to $1,000 per acre. The 
trees bear at eight years, and are free from in¬ 
sects and disease. 
There were awarde 1 of Wilder medals, 
one gold, seven silver and eight bronze. 
The gold medal went to Hon. Marshall P. 
Wilder for 100 plates of very fine pears. The 
silver medals went, one to the Michigan Hor¬ 
ticultural Society for 8.1$ plates of fruits and 
uuts grow r n iu Michigan; one to the Ohio 
Horticultural Society for 141 varieties; one to 
Missouri State Horticultural Society for 211 
plates; one to Ellwanger & Barry N. Y. for 
140 plates of pears; one to Benj. G. Smith, of 
Mass, for 61 varieties of pears; one to Peter 
M. Gideon, of Minn, for 28 varieties of apples 
of his owu originating; one to Field & Osborne 
N. J. for collections of cocoa nuts grown by 
them in Florida. Of bronze medals one was 
awarded H. M. Engle cfc Son, Pa for 28 vari¬ 
eties of pears; 27 of grapes, three of peaches, 
two of apples aud one of chestnuts (tbe great 
American); one to A. J. Caywood & Son, N. 
Y. for three .seedling graphs; one to W. W. 
Thompson, Ga. fora collection of fruit; one 
to A. Block, Cal , for four new varieties of 
seedlmg pears; one to Prof. L H. Bailey of 
Mich., for 75 varieties of Mich, native fruits 
and berries; one to T. V. Munson. Texas, for 
12 seedliDg grapes,and one to G. W. Campbell 
of Ohio, for seedling grapes. 
The last evening was devoted to one of Sec¬ 
retary Garfield’s “love feasts," and seemed to 
be enjoyed by all present. Thus ended one 
of the most wide-awake and practical meetings 
of this Society ever held and we sincerely hope 
that the venerable President Wilder may be 
graciously spared and kindly preserved to 
greet this grand old Society at its next bien¬ 
nial session at Boston, in 1887. We promise 
all a rousing time, because we know what 
Boston can do. 
THE RED HEADED SYSTENA. 
PROF. A. J. COOK. 
A reader of the Rural at Penn Yan, 
N.Y., wishes information, through the paper, 
regarding a small, quick, black beetle, which 
is quite seriously injuring the foliage of his 
grapes. It has attacked small, young Dela¬ 
ware vines. He specially calls attention to its 
quick motions, and the difficulty of catching 
it, contrasting its movements with the slow, 
awkward habits of the Rose Beetle, and the 
Grape Fidia. 
This beetle is the Red-headed Svstena (Sys- 
tena frontalis. Fabr ). It is black with a 
red head, and is three sixteenths of an inch 
long. The thorax and wing-covers are finely 
punctured. The under side of tbe body is 
black, with a brownish tinge. The antennae 
are red, except the basal joint.wbich is black. 
Had this inquirer examined the femora of tbe 
posterior legs, he would have found why it is 
so active; as these organs, like the same in 
the Grape Flea Beetle, which belongs to tbe 
same family \the plant eaters-, Chrysomelidse) 
are greatly developed. 
Mr. William Saunders states that this in¬ 
sect has been quite destructive in parts of 
Ontario. Canada, eating the green tissue 
from the upper sides'of the leaves. In th 
entomological report of Ontario, 13th Vol., 
p. 10, this same beetle is referred to as 
devouring # t,be leaves of tbe grapes iu the 
vineyard nf Mr. M. FeJan, of Oakville, On¬ 
tario. It is stated that while the insects are 
very abundant on bis vines, his neighbor’s 
are unmolested. This beetle is generally dis¬ 
tributed in tbe United States, and I should 
be glad to learn whether It is quite general in 
its destruction in Western New York. 
Mr. Saunders suggests no remedy. I have 
tried the kerosene and soap emulsions with 
great success on the closely allied Grape 
Flea Beetle, and have no doubt that it would 
be equally efficacious in this case. Of course 
Paris green would prove a sure remedy. I 
think it would be wise to apply pyrethrum; 
for if the latter will banish the Rose Beetle, 
which is said to defy (?) Paris-greeD, it would 
be pretty sure to route the Red-headed Sys- 
tena. 
(Strucatiotwl. 
“WHAT’S IN A NAME?'’ 
PROFESSOR (J. E. MORROW. 
Let ns reason together concerning a re¬ 
cent article, in the Rural New-Yorker, 
about the change of name of the “Illinois 
Industrial University’’ to “University of Illi-, 
nois.” 
A large number of respectable people, in¬ 
cluding at least a majority of the trustees, 
faculty, students and many of the graduates, 
desired this change to be made. It was re¬ 
peatedly stated that the objection was not to 
the word “Industrial” in the sense in which 
it was designed to be understood, but was 
based ou the fact that very many persons, 
because of this word in tbe name, confounded 
the institution with reformatory or semi-penal 
institutions, such as the “Illinois Industrial 
School for Girts.” It was also repeatedly 
stated by those in authority, that the change 
of name did not imply any wish or intention 
to change the character of tbe University. 
The change was opposed by many, and it 
clearly was a matter about which honest 
difference of opinion could exist. What has 
seemed to me unfortunate has been that in 
A LIBERAL PROPOSITION! 
Any Subscriber may now present the Rural New- 
Yorker to any friend for the rest of 1885 
at our expense. 
Those who accept of this proposition, may re¬ 
new their subscriptions from now until Ja¬ 
nuary 1st, 1887, for the regular yearly 
price, viz., $2, giving the unexpired 
subscription to the friend. 
We are now preparing for our nexf FREE SEED DISTRIBUTION, 
which will be the best ever offered, both as to varieties 
and quantity of the kinds offered. 
IT WILL BE ANNOUNCED THE LATTER PART OF NEXT MONTH, WITH A LIST 
AND DESCRIPTION OF OUR 
Presents to SuT>scriT>ers 
WHO SEND US CLUBS. 
BE PREPARED FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1883-6! 
It is the intention of the Publishers and Editors to make the Rural Hew-Yorker better for 
1886 than ever before. 
WE WANT AN APPRECIATIVE AND GREATLY INCREASED AUDIENCE. 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
34 PARK ROW, NEW YORK. 
