4687 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
members of the Faculty of the State Univers¬ 
ity will speak. Prof. Cooke also proposes to 
deliver a course of farmers’ lectures at the Un¬ 
iversity, beginning Jan. 7 
In Minnesota, arrangements have been 
made to bold some 40 institutes during the 
coming winter. The plan of campaign is 
much like that employed iu Wisconsin. Last 
March the Legislature of Minnesota appro¬ 
priated £7,000 for the purpose of maintaining 
these institutes. Mr. O. C. Gregg was ap¬ 
pointed superintendent. Previous to that 
date the work was performed by Professor 
Porter of the Minnesota School of Agricul¬ 
ture. 
The farmers' meetings iu North Carolina 
are in charge of the State Commissioner of 
Agriculture. Several will be held this season. 
I he Commissioner of Agriculture is chiefly 
occupied in showing up the advantages of the 
State as a desirable location for Northern im¬ 
migrants. 
In Massachusetts the State Board of Agri¬ 
culture arranges Cor several meetings. The 
Agricultural College has not had meetings 
under the control of the Faculty though sev¬ 
eral members attend such meetings when they 
are held. 
The Missouri Board of Agriculture has held 
meetings for the past five years. About 20 
meetings will be held this year. The reports 
show that meuihors of the Faculty at the Agri¬ 
cultural College always atteud. 
Iu Texas, the members of the Faculty at the 
Agricultural College do not seem to believe in 
farmers’ institutes. They aim to encourage 
farmers and horticulturists to organize for 
themselves nnd hold meetings, but they do not 
care to be thought as trying to do more than 
lend a helping hand in the movement. 
In Florida there is nothing but a meeting of 
farmers and fruit-growers of the State. The 
Agricultural College was established three 
years ago, nut nothing has been done. The 
Professor of Agriculture is teaching in the 
literary department. 
Iu Arkausas the meetings of the Wheel and 
the Grange take the place of the institutes. 
There is a movement in favor of regular in¬ 
stitutes, however 
There is no regular provision for holding 
farmers’ institutes in Nebraska. A bill pro¬ 
viding for them failed iu the last Legislature; 
but that or a similar bill will undoubtedly be 
passed at the next session, which is uot till 
Jau. 18KW. Iu the mean time from three to six 
institutes are held each winter through local 
efforts, and are attended by officers of the In¬ 
dustrial College of the University. No dates 
have as yet been arranged for 1887-8, The 
State Board of Agriculture and State Horti- 
culturalSocicty will bold their annual meetings 
at Lincoln.thethird week in January,1888. The 
State Dairymen's Association will have its 
annual meeting at Omaha the second Tuesday 
iu December, 1&S7. 
Iu Georgia there is nothing exactly corres¬ 
ponding to the institutes. The State Agri¬ 
cultural Society holds somi-aunual meetings 
at which papers are read and discussions held. 
The West Virginia College has no charge of 
any of the farmers’ meetings, several of which 
are held during the winter. 
in Nevada no meetings are held. In Colorado 
the State Board of Agriculture has charge of 
the work and meetings arc held on the Michi¬ 
gan plan. In Maine something of the same 
plan is pursued. In New Hampshire the 
State Board has arranged for about 50 meet- 
iugs. 
FARMERS’ CLUBS. 
Fanners' clubs as aids to institutes; impedi¬ 
ments; the Westtoivn Farmers' Club; its 
constitution and by-laws; method of pro¬ 
ceeding; “creaming the papers"; lectures 
and other entertainments; strawberry fes¬ 
tivals; “Harvest Home"; a good example to 
follow. 
One of the best means of making the far¬ 
mers’ institutes u success will be tbe forma¬ 
tion of live farmers’ clubs. These will serve 
to educate the people up to the institute, and 
the machinery of the smaller organization 
will be very useful iu calling out a good audi¬ 
ence. Ouo of the most successful clubs of 
this kind that we know of is the Wosttowu 
Farm and Garden Club of Wosttowu, N. Y. 
It may well serve as a model for the farmers’ 
club that ought to be organized iu every 
township in the country. The following ac¬ 
count will prove interesting, 
THE WESTTOWN (N. Y.) FARMERS’ CLUB. 
Of all societies that composed exclusively of 
farmers is the most difficult to maintain, and 
yet there is no apparent difficulty iu the way 
of holding together. Clubs that are formed 
in cities or towns are composed of members 
who mostly live nearby. The members have 
but a little way to go to the hall or lodge 
rooms. Not so with the farmer, for the mem¬ 
bership of his club extends over a number of 
miles of territory and at the regular uight or 
time for gathering, the weather may be un¬ 
pleasant or the roads, which iu the country 
are at best never any too good, may be mud 
dy, or badly drifted with snow banks, or per¬ 
haps tbe meeting occurs at a time when, the 
farmer is at some heavy job,and after supper, 
being pretty tired, be concludes he will let the 
rest go to take part in the meeting while he 
retires early to bed. A good part of tbe 
members reason the same way and the result 
is a light attendance and not much interest is 
manifested. 
About five years ago, the Rev. J, B. Fisher, 
pastor of the Presbyterian Church, of West- 
town, N. \., suggested to a few farmers who 
live near-by tbe advantages of organizing a far 
mere club. At bis call a few—perhaps half-a- 
dozeu met at bis home and talked tbe matter 
over, and then and there formed the West 
town Farm and Garden Club. This little be 
ginning was formally announced iu the new 
columns of tbe local papers. Many expected 
it would last a few months and die as many 
others have done before it, from general de¬ 
bility, But it is still alive and has now 10<) of 
the best farmers who live within an area of 
six or eight miles square At the first and 
second meeting tbe following constitution 
and by-laws were prepared and approved 
CONSTITUTION. 
Article I.—This Association shall be 
known as the “Westtown Farm and Garden 
Club,” and its object shall be the improve¬ 
ment of its members in all the branches of 
agriculture and horticulture. 
Article U.—Any person may become a 
member of this association who shall sign 
this constitution and thereby agree to pay 
such tax as may be assessed equally on all the 
members of the association, such tax not to 
exceed one dollar annually. 
Article III,—Its officers shall consist of 
a President, Vice-President, Secretary and 
Treasurer who shall be chosen annually by 
ballot at the regular meeting in November. 
Article I\ .—The following Standing Com¬ 
mittees shall be appointed semi-annually to 
consist of five members each, viz.: a Com¬ 
mittee on Fruits, a Committee on Garden 
Vegetables, a Committee on Farm Products. 
Article V.—This constitution may be 
amended by a vote of two thirds of the mem 
bers present at any regular meeting, notice of 
the amendment having been given at a pre¬ 
vious meeting. 
BY-LAWS. 
Section I.—Tbe regular meetings of the 
association shall be held monthly on the Friday 
evening nearest the full moon, hut tbe asso 
eiation may holdother meetingsat its pleasure. 
Section II.—The various committees on 
farm aud garden products shall investigate 
all questions referred to them, aud report any 
items of interest in varieties or culture for 
the benefit of the association. 
Section III.—These by-laws maybe amend 
ed at any regular meeting of tbe association 
by a vote of a majority of those present. 
Our machinery is very simple, and to the 
point, and our five years’ experience shows 
that no improvement is needed. It is a farm 
and garden club; that is, all matters pertain¬ 
ing to the farm are discussed, while the 
kitchen garden holds an equally prominent 
place. The meetings are held, not in a hall, 
but at members’ homes, from one end of the 
territory to the other. At a meeting the 
president will ask where the next meeting 
will be held, and perhaps three or four invi¬ 
tations will be extended. The club will de¬ 
cide by vote which one to accept, and sub¬ 
jects for discussion will be announced. A few 
days before the meeting a programme of the 
meeting is printed on a small printing press 
that the President has. or on a copy pad, aud 
sent to each member, and also a notice is 
priuted in tbe local paper. The meetings are 
at night and near the full moon. 
After the minutes of tbe previous meeting 
have been read by the secretary, the presi¬ 
dent calls on the "sale and exchange.” If a 
member has wheat, rye, potatoes, grain of 
any kind, fat stock, pigs, poultry, horses or 
uuything to sell, or wants to buy any of the 
above he speaks out; and sometimes a sale is 
made on the spot, but the reporters take the 
item down and it is published iu the weekly 
papers with the proceedings, and the result is 
that members sell their surplus without any 
irouble. Then, the exhibits are examined. 
Hardly a meeting is held, except maybe iu 
mid-winter, at which something is not brought 
to be exhibited. The various products of the 
farm and garden are shown in their season, so 
that at times a long extensiou table is inade¬ 
quate to hold the fruits. This exhibit enables 
the members to compare notes aud make ex¬ 
changes for the better if necessary. 
The subjects for discussion are then an¬ 
nounced, all parliamentary rules for debate 
are thrown aside and simple free-and-easy talk 
takes place, just such as farmers are used to. 
This throws off all reserve aud makes all feel 
at home. Sometimes a subject is given a 
member to write up and read at a subsequent 
meeting, which is a good feature. Then those 
who take the different agricultural journals 
are requested to mark the best articles and 
bring them aDd read them. This is what we 
call "creaming the papers,” skimming the 
cream, tak'ng the best out of them. This 
is a very good feature, because subjects are 
suddenly brought up and quite a discussion 
will frequently insue. The Agricultural De 
partment at Washington has for the past two 
years, sent us a big sackful of garden seeds. 
These are distributed, and those who take 
them give a report at a meeting ac the end of 
the season, as to yield and quality, and send it 
back to the Department. 
At the end of the exercises the host usually 
sets out a big basket of apples, or pears, or 
frequently sweet cider or lemonade: this 
simple refreshment is inexpensive and creates 
good cheer. 
In order to give variety, a committee is ap¬ 
pointed to furnish outside speakers. This is 
a valuable addition, aud calls out a big crowd. 
There are men who live within 10 or 20 miles, 
who are prominent farmers or fruit raisers and, 
withal, good talkers. Some of these lectures 
are truly a feast, and valuable information 
is gleaned. These speakers as yet have cost 
us nothing, for they cousider it an honor to 
address the meeting. At the close of the ad¬ 
dress they are made honorary members. I 
should here mention that one of the Rural 
staff Las consented to address the club in the 
near future. As almost all farmers have a 
bed of strawberries, the club every year gives 
a strawberry festival. The ladies furnish 
the cake, etc., and each member who has a 
crop of berries is assesed from five to ten 
quarts, and the ice-cream is purchased. Then 
there is an exhibit of strawberries, cherries, 
currants, etc. The show of strawberries, a 
small plate of each variety, is a beautiful 
sight to see; tbe members vie with each other, 
as to tbe finest exhibit. Then a small sum is 
assessed the members, not to exceed 25 or 35 
cents, to pay for ice-cream and incidental ex 
penses 
In the fall of the year, we have for three 
years, given a "Harvest Home” festival; this 
is a regular party of members only. The 
invitations to this aud the strawberry festival 
are printed aud sent out the same as to a 
private party, lb** ladies furnish a regular 
supper, and tbe expense per member is the 
same as at the strawberry festival. Of course, 
tbis "Harvest Home” can be omitted, but the 
strawberry festival should not be. It is the 
social part that tends so largely to the success 
of tbe club. Ac nearly every meeting, the 
ladies turn out, aud occasionally in overflow 
ing numbers, so that sometimes after exercises, 
members tarry, aud spend a social evening. 
It is well at the September meeting for each 
member who raises melons, grapes, plums, 
peaches or any eatable fruit, to bring rather 
more than a sample, and then at the close of 
the meeting have a grand feast. We have 
tried it a couple of times, and such are meet¬ 
ings that all remember. 
I have thus briefly outlined our method of 
conducting a farmers’ club, but whether this 
method would lead to success in other organi¬ 
zations or chibs, I cannot say. But we have 
succeeded far beyond our most sanguiue ex¬ 
pectations. How long we will continue it 
is, of course, impossible for me to hazard a 
guess; but there arc no signs of blight or de¬ 
cay iu our midst. Has our club during these 
years been of any practical value to the com¬ 
munity' Well, if an outsider could see our 
exhibits of grain, fruit and vegetables during 
the past two or three years, he would not ask 
that question. m. n. c. Gardner. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
3ntuisft Societies. 
AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
AT BOSTON.—V. 
its twenty-first session. 
(rural special shorthand report.) 
i Continued.) 
Pests of the pomologist; increase of insect 
pests promoted by increase of fruit cul¬ 
ture; fungoid diseases; the apricot dis¬ 
ease; the Jtuted-scale insect; Arizona for 
fruit culture; the best emulsion; danger 
from foreign insect pests; the deterioration 
of small fruits; (he cause; the Wilson 
Strawberry as an example; its nurvelous 
vitality ; proper care and culture preven¬ 
tives of deterioration; a lively discussion. 
One of the most discouraging papers read 
before the Society was the scholarly essay on 
"Pestsof the Pomologist," by Dr. J. A.Lintner, 
tbe New York State Entomologist. The om¬ 
nifarious procession of bugs aud insects 
brought up for review by the Doctor was 
enough to darken the pomological outlook of 
the most sanguine fruit-grower, and a member 
fitly characterized it as a pomological funeral 
address. The paper was very long, and em¬ 
braced some good practical advice. The fol¬ 
lowing salient points are selected frem my 
copious notes, Tbe increase of insect pests 
comes with the advance of frnit culture. In 
combatting tbe pests we need tbe best skill of 
the chemist, the botanist, and the mycologist, 
and their services are freely at our command 
in the persons of State Entomologists, and the 
various scientists of the Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment at Washington and other places. In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat fruit. The 
great production of fruit has led to a vast in¬ 
crease of insect pests. "In my childhood days,” 
said he, “the orange was a rarity, peaches 
were scarce, varieties of apples and pears 
were few. Now we sent 83,500,000 worth of 
apples to England last year. Why, a man 
said before a horticultural society lately that 
fruit was now so plentiful that unless insects 
reduced the production it would uot pay to 
grow it much longer. But the desire for whole 
some fruit will never be lost entirely. An 
apple orchard at Greenpurt on the Hudson 
It.vtr covers 300 acres. Two hundred vears 
ago, not even the wild crab, the hardiest ap¬ 
ple in tbis country, existed here, hence there 
were no apple insects. Insects were then 
obliged to wing their way many miles in 
search of food. But now they ha re the foliage, 
roots, trunks, fruit and blossoms almost every¬ 
where upon which they freely banquet. 
Look at the Colorado beetle—when confined 
to the native solanums it was restricted and 
wrought no serious injury. But when it be¬ 
gan to fed upon tbe more nutritious species of 
the potato family it increased so rapid! v that 
nothing but the timely discovery of Paris- 
green as a remedy, prevented the utter exter¬ 
mination of this esculent. Another instance 
noted by entomologists during tbe last two 
years is that of the small borer, which for¬ 
merly lived only upon the peach and plum, 
but which now attacks the apple as well. 
High culture, enormous production and mass¬ 
ing iu large areas inevitably promote plant 
diseases. Of the 200 secies known to 
infest the grape-vine the downr-mitdew, the 
powdery-mildew, the black-rot and the an- 
thraenose are among the most destructive. 
The latter is comparatively a new disease in 
this country, but one long known in Europe. 
It attacks the vine and leaf. Then there are 
the peach yellows, peach curl, plum rot, black 
knot, apple rust, apple and pear scab, etc., 
A very remarkable new disease has been re¬ 
ported in California, called tbe “apricot dis¬ 
ease.” Ia tbe morning the treesappear in full 
health, about 10 in the forenoou the leaves be¬ 
come wilted and hang lifeless on the tree.. In 
the afternoon the bark begins to shrink, and 
in 48 hours tbe whole tree seems shrunken 
and dead. The disease works from the graft 
upward; thus every year the growth of perfect 
fruit becomes more difficult. The myriad in¬ 
sect hosts confront the grower on every side 
and claim his entire attention. Either the in¬ 
sects or tbe fruit-growers must conquer.” 
Speaking of the numerous species he said: 
“Some insects confine themselves to certain 
plants and will rather starve than partake of 
any other. The fluted scale insect has latelv be¬ 
come very troublesome among c-itras fruits in 
C aliforuia. Its shell-like covering protects the 
pest from the arsenical preparations which do 
uot affect it. Its original food-plant is be¬ 
lieved to Lave been the acacia. It was proba¬ 
bly brought to California in 1868 or 1869. It 
is proving particularly destructive to the 
orange m many parts of the State, and the 
fruit inspectors are after it. As this insect 
adheres to the plant rather than to the fruit, 
it is uot likely to be brought to the East un¬ 
less by the use of cions or nursery stock ob¬ 
tained from there. If this practice is now in 
progress here I would advise its discontinu¬ 
ance at once. When the pests become fixed 
as now iu California, it is impossible to exter¬ 
minate them: all that can be done is to lessen 
their number. I believe this insect has not 
yet reached Florida. When it does the State 
will lie doomed for the production of oranges.” 
He alluded to Arizoua as a most promising 
fruit country, uot yet overrun with insect 
pests, aud having a larger area than New 
York State. He who does best with fruit 
hereafter will be he who knows best how to 
deal with the insect posts. The fruit grower 
should be acquainted with all the more corn- 
men insects liable to occur iu his vicinity, 
their habits and common names, aud be able 
to identify them iu all their stages. He 
should be able to distinguish between foes 
and friends. 
The best emulsion for general use is pro¬ 
duced by violently agitating through a force 
pump, two parts kerosene and one part of hot 
soap-suds made by dissolving soap in hot 
water. The various publications of the Agri¬ 
cultural Department, especially tbe reports of 
I rofessors Riley aud Comstock, contain much 
