1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
341 
however, I took the additional precaution to set buds 
from it. David Thomas. 8 mo. 12, 1849. 
American Congress of Fruit Growers. 
Pursuant to adjournment, the members of the 
American congress of Fruit Growers, together with 
additional delegates from Societies not represented 
last year, met at Castle Garden in New-York on the 
2nd inst. There was a large number of gentlemen 
present from various parts of the United States, 
and also, very fine collections of Fruits, full lists 
of which will appear in the published proceedings, 
which are to be issued in pamphlet form. Mar¬ 
shall P. Wilder, the President of the Congress, 
took the chair, as did also the Vice Presidents and 
Secretaries, their appropriate stations. A resolution 
was passed inviting the President and Vice Presi¬ 
dents of the North Am. Pom. Convention who were 
present, to take seats on the rostrum, which they 
accordingly did. At an early hour of the first days’ 
session, Mr. A. J. Downing addressed the Con¬ 
gress, urging upon its members the propriety and 
necessity of harmony among pomologists, and con¬ 
gratulating those present upon the prospect of such 
harmony, consequent upon the action of the North 
American Pomological convention, which recently 
terminated its session at Syracuse, by which Con¬ 
vention a committee of conference had been ap¬ 
pointed, to confer with this Congress, upon matters 
relating to merging the two associations into one 
organization for future operations, which commit¬ 
tee he understood were present. He closed his re¬ 
marks by moving a resolution that the President of 
the Congress appoint a committee to confer with 
the committee of the other association, which was 
unanimously adopted. The President named Mr. 
Downing, Dr. W. D. Brinckle, Mr. McIntosh, 
Professor Olmsted, and Mr. Walker; subsequently 
the President was added to the committee on a sug¬ 
gestion of Dr. Wendell that the President of the 
other organization had been added to its commit¬ 
tee. After Mr. Downing had closed his remarks, 
and the committee had been appointed, Dr. Her¬ 
man Wendell rose, and remarked that, as chair¬ 
man of the committee of the North American Po¬ 
mological Convention, who had been appointed to 
confer with this Congress, he begged leave to coin¬ 
cide fully in all the remarks of Mr. Downing in 
relation to the necessity of harmony and kind feel¬ 
ing among Pomologists; and he could not but hope, 
from the character of the committee which had 
been chosen, to confer with the one of which he was 
a member, that such would be the effect of the Con¬ 
ference of the committees. 
Dr. Wendell added that the committee who 
were appointed, and who were now present, to con¬ 
fer with the committee just appointed by this Con¬ 
gress, were Dr. J. A. Kennicott, Prof. J. J. Mapes, 
F. R. Elliott, Col. Benjamin Hodge, Chas. Down¬ 
ing and himself. 
The convention then adjourned, in order that the 
committees might confer together. At its re-as¬ 
semblage, Col. Wilder remarked that the joint 
committees had met and chosen him its chairman, 
and that they had unanimously instructed him to re¬ 
port, as the result of their deliberations:— 
1st. That the two associations shall hereafter be 
merged into one organization, under the title of the 
American Pomological Congress. 
2nd. That the next meeting under the above ti¬ 
tle, be held in the city of Cincinnati, during the 
autumn of 1850,— that the precise time be left for 
the President of the Ohio Board of Agriculture, 
and the President of this Congress to determine, 
and that circulars be issued inviting all kindred as¬ 
sociations and societies, as well as individuals inte¬ 
rested, to attend its meeting. 
3d. That the meetings after the next one be held 
biennially, and that this Congress recommend that 
the meeting for 1852, be held in Philadelphia. 
The report was unanimously adopted. 
Reports from several State committees were then 
handed in and referred to the appropriate committee. 
Mr. Downing, chairman of the General Fruit 
Committee, reported a list of varieties to be recom¬ 
mended for general cultivation; and also a list of 
varieties to be rejected, which induced an interest¬ 
ing discussion, which consumed the remainder of 
the day, and the greatest part of the succeeding 
one, and which was participated in by many of 
those present. This discussion will be given at 
length in the published proceedings, which will be 
issued shortly. 
Mr. Downing also introduced a Constitution and 
By-Laws for the American Pomological Con¬ 
gress. The Congress adjourned sine die on the 
afternoon of the second day, after an interesting, 
harmonious ond useful session,—the members con¬ 
gratulating themselves that all difficulties hereto¬ 
fore existing had been so amicably terminated, and 
separating with great good feeling. 
Fear Tree and Fire Blight. 
I have within the last few years lost nearly all my 
most valuable pear trees by the disease called “ fire- 
blight”—commencing at the extremities, and dying 
downwards. Viewing the disease very much like hydro¬ 
phobia, incurable, I have felt at liberty to try all kinds 
of experiments, and from present indications, I am sat¬ 
isfied that I have discovered a remedy. 
I have a pear tree in my garden now sending out new 
shoots from every branch through a bark as black and dead 
as it can well be. The tree seemed dead in every limb; 
when I first discovered the leaves changing and fruit with¬ 
ering, I at once applied what had appeared successful the 
year previous. I say u appeared ,” because other re¬ 
medies had been used, and it was uncertain which was 
the real specific. The application was as follows: Ire- 
removed the earth about the roots near the body as deep 
as I could conveniently, making an open tunnel around 
the tree, into which I poured 4 quarts of boiling water; 
as soon as the water had disappeared, I emptied a 
quart oil-can of whale oil upon the exposed and steam¬ 
ing roots, and also upon the body of the tree. The 
next day I syringed the whole tree with oil-soap water, 
very strong. Shortly after, I discovered a new bark 
forming under the black, dead bark outside, and new 
the tree is really a curiosity. 
My impression is that the real specific is the whale 
oil, but as I had used the boiling water in both experi¬ 
ments, it should be mentioned as a concomitant, and it 
may be found essential to a cure. The tree upon which 
I tried the same remedy last year was not as much dis¬ 
eased, and having cut off the black part, I had no op¬ 
portunity to discover the effect upon the diseased limbs. 
The tree revived at once, and has since evinced no 
symptoms of disease. J. W. F. Hudson , July 19. 
Stereotyped Errors. 
Extract from the letter of a correspondent:—“There 
is an article going the rounds, taken from the American 
Agriculturist, that contains a number of fictions, such 
as that the peach was a poisonous almond, (when pro¬ 
perly it don’t belong to the same genus,) and that it 
was introduced into Persia to poison their arrows with 
its flesh ! That the nectarine and apricot are natural 
