440 
STATE HORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 
And of how much more value will it be to this state than that. 
How much more we need the information this committee can 
give us than Illinois does its committee is easily measured by 
the relative progress of horticulture and the knowledge of the 
same in the two states. 
There probably would be no trouble in finding men who 
would give all the time necessary for the work, but who would 
not feel like paying the necessary traveling expenses attending 
the same. For this purpose the legislature of Illinois grants 
that state an annual appropriation, and Mr. Flagg, a prominent 
fruit-grower of Alton, writes me, “ it pays.” For this purpose 
an appropriation of $500 would probably be sufficient for the 
coming year. 
It is a fact apparent to you all, when you stop for a moment 
to consider, that of all the enterprises ot the state, horticulture 
has wonderfully languished, and there has as yet been noth¬ 
ing done by way of an application of the sciences to it, or to 
show to the world the knowledge, for the benefit of horticul¬ 
ture, which might be gained by a study of the natural sciences, 
horticulturally considered. Again, has anything ever been 
done to develop this state scientifically ? Has entomology even 
a name in our midst? What do we know of the insects injuri¬ 
ous to our crops, of those which prey upon our fruits; of our 
insect friends ? How little the school boy, who hunts for the fun 
of it, knows whether he kills friend or foe as he takes aim at 
the feathered songster. Upon this subject, A. S. Fuller, horti¬ 
cultural editor of the Hew York ISun^ says in the Journal of 
Agriculture: “It must be apparent to every observing horti¬ 
culturist, that insects which are injurious are rapidly increas¬ 
ing. There is scarcely a flower, fruit, or seed which has not 
one or more insect enemies; and their depredations are becom¬ 
ing so numerous, that it is to be feared that many species of 
plants will have to be abandoned unless some efficient remedy 
is soon discovered. Our fruits have suffered most; but flow¬ 
ering plants and ornamental trees ar.e injured more or less 
every year. To know how to successfully combat these ene¬ 
mies of our gardens requires a knowledge of their habits, and 
to obtain this information much time and patient investigation 
