In coming from our county city last night, I had not started far until I found that I was alone upon the great suburban car, and in a twinkle it flashed upon me that I was president of the State Farmers' Institute, and they had run out one of their most elaborate cars, decorated, to bring me over, and the consideration of that fact helped me to while away the midnight hours, and I trust, good farmers, that the day is not far off when the railroads will fight with each other for the honor of bringing the delegates and farmers to our great state meeting.

I have in my possession year books and agricultural reports dating back as far as the year 1853. In looking over them I have found that each man who came forward as president first spoke well of our nation, our state, the work upon the farm, at the university, the institute and all these things that have a bearing toward the advancement of agriculture, but time will only permit me this morning to invent a few words concerning our nation, the greatness of our state, the work in field, farm and orchard. However, may I say that one of the encouraging features of the present time is the harmony of nations. True, Japan and Russia cannot testify to that, but in a general way there never existed as now at this time the harmony of nations. It is not yet a fortnight since Professor Charles Wolstein, of the University of Cambridge, sat with our president, and the object of his mission in coming to our shores was to ask his consent, with other nations, Germany, France, Italy and England, in the great work of excavating where scientific men are certain lie treasures of indigo grander than the world has ever yet seen.

It is pleasant for us to think of the wonderful resources of our country. Almost in any direction which you may point are millions and millions of acres yet untouched. The untouched resources of Ohio are wonderful to consider. Take Ohio with her forty-one thousand square miles, and take the population of our great country, nearly eighty millions, and if you will divide Ohio into little farms of an acre and a half each-and there are many people in Ohio right comfortable on farms no larger than this-and place upon each farm a family of five, and would to the Lord there were more families of five in our great country, and they would be more popular, instead of the great popularity of the American poodle dog (applause), the labor problem would then be solved. But take the population of our great country, divide it into families of five, and each family would have a home in our great state. I cannot say that our resources will be fully developed in a dozen years or in ten dozen years. One of the reasons why our country is great, I believe, is because of our power of absorption, or as a cattle and stock raiser I would say power of digestion and assimilation. Whatever comes across our borders becomes a valuable part of ourselves. It is not so the whole world round. You take, for instance, a hundred German people, the hardest people in the whole world to change in their ways; take one hundred of them today, place them anywhere in an European nation, visit them in one hundred years, and they have not changed materially from the way in which they started. But take one hundred German people, bring them upon our shores and in three days those men and women have taken a valuable place among our citizens, and the children of those German people go marching home from their schools, and as they march they bear the American flag and sing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty." They have the power of absorption, and that is why our nation and our state are great and grand.

Would it be wise for us this morning just to take a moment to look about us to see from whence our greatness comes, and our advancement in the world, and all things that are valuable, as well? One of the reasons why our

country is good and great is because we have been the producers of men. Our nation and our state; there is nothing greater, there is nothing grander in the whole world than a man. The pure and higher manhood is higher than that of party fraternity. A man, a true man in the true sense of the word, although he stand alone and stand for the right, there is no greater or grander creature. Should I talk of patriots? It is not necessary so long as we have men. Have you ever seen a man who was called a patriot but his only evidence of his patriotism was his shouting for the old flag, while with his other hand he took from the public treasury an unjustly rich reward? That man has no more patriotism than would fill a last year's humming bird's nest. You say there is no demand for patriotism in these times of peace, but the man who is a patriot in the time of peace is a greater and grander man than he who can face the cannon and hear unmovedd the hiss of the minie ball, the man who, in all of life's experiences can stand for the right is a greater and grander man than he who is the patriot in time of war.

Will you go with me a step further in viewing the foundation upon which those things which are valuable to our country rest? I am sure you will go, and you will encourage me. Out yonder (pointing toward the Ohio State Fair grounds) is one of the grandest fairs that the old flag floats over or the sun shines upon. It is here we have, we believe, one of the best fairs held in the Union. This ground and this fair have been made what they are by the labor of twelve good men. A little to the west part, I would say, of that fair ground is a cottage, a one story structure. It is old and worn, and so dear to the hearts of our people that each man and woman seeing it would carry away as a souvenir a splinter of it; so our State Board, in its wisdom, placed about it a case of glass and stone. It is the birthplace of U. S. Grant, one of the grandest men-soldier, statesman, patriot-that the world has ever known. While that man had within his soul the full fire of manhood he arose one day in all his princely majesty and he said, "Our country is indebted to religion for all the civilization that she has ever been permitted to have, and from that source she may look for it in the future." And while we are thinking of this there comes the sound across the ocean, the thought of William E. Gladstone, and his spoken sentiment coincides exactly with that of our honored brother, U. S. Grant.

You remember the woman who sat in the little church where you worshiped when you were a boy beside her; a little woman, and you knew her right well, for you sat beside her sometimes and heard the soft pleadings from her voice. Yes, you knew her well because she was your mother and mine. The sentiments of her great heart correspond exactly with that of Grant and Gladstone.

Have there been any hindrances to the great work of agriculture during the past year? Of that I have little to say. The charge has been made of unfaithfulness to trust and duty. This is a very grave one, and should never have been made only after the most careful consideration. In this great country of ours we are in the exercise of our highest civil rights, each man being himself a sovereign. It is because the majority have been inactive, and are only brought out of their inactivity or dormant state by the action of those who are willing to work. However, let me say this: He or she who would destroy the work of agricultrue is as foolish as the child who would thrust a dagger into the bosom of its mother, that mother being its only support. James G. Blaine said that there is no greater part of this great country than agriculture. Without it all else fails. Ships would rot in the harbor, grass would grow in the most populous streets if agriculture were destroyed.

Our coming together today is not without its dark shadow. If down there we take one of these streets, and over here another, and over that we would spread rich trimming of silk and velvet, and then on that the flowers banked up high, and then over all we allow the sweet stars and stripes to wave, that action would only be a vain expression of the love we have for those two grand men, Brothers Brigham and Ellis. In other years they sat with us as councilors and great helpers. Today we know that in the great and glorious beyond they sit beneath the tree of life and wander through bright fields. They were men, men in the truest sense of the word. They were self-made men, but unlike most of our self-made men they did not exhaust all their energies in the making of themselves, but they gave to you, and to me, and to the agricultural world, and to the whole world, treasure, rich, priceless, immortal.

Brothers, what is your wish as to what the character of this Institute shall be? Shall it be an ordinary one, or shall it be up to the average, or shall it be a record breaker in every respect? It is for us to say today. Like life, and like anything, in fact, with which we may have experience, it will be what we make it. This Institute may be made like the ring of a bell, joyful, with glad note, that which cheers the heart, or it may be mournful, unsatisfying, discouraging.

Have you heard of the Boston bells, or of the Boston merchant rather, who kept bells for sale? He had only one variety. A committee came to him one day from the church and said they wanted to purchase a bell. "We want one to be strong in tone and clear, which will cause the heart of saint and sinner to pause and consider." Said the merchant, "We have bells of that character." and he brought forth one, and he rung it with motion slow and mournful, and it awakened thoughts of the great eternity. Said the committee, "That will just suit us. What is your price?" Said he, "Seventy-five dollars." They said, "We will take it," and they paid him for it.

They scarcely had gone their way when a jolly farmer came in and he said, "I want to purchase a bell, one clear, good tone, that will cause a fellow to have an appetite for his dinner." The Jewish member of the firm was on hand and he said, "We have some bells; they are very good bells; come and see them." He produced the same bell and he said, "This bell is clear in tone and rich and soft," and thereupon he took up that bell and rung it back and forth with a good, clear sound, and he said, "That bell would make a fellow bust himself to get to a good dinner." He said, "I sell that bell to my brother last week; he is dead now; he don't need it." He said, "I sell it to him for seventyfive dollars. If you want it you can have it for seventy-four dollars and ninetyeight cents." Brother, the ringing of the bell is yours. Let us ring it with no uncertain sound.

The President: In traveling in the northern part of the state last year, or perhaps the year before, I met a man whom I learned to hold in high esteem. He is with us today, Mr. A. F. Burgess, and his subject. is, "Spraying for Control of Orchard Pests."

ADDRESS BY A. F. BURGESS.

In order to grow successful fruit crops the orchardist must carefully study the many problems which are connected with his business. He must understand the natural advantages, as well as the disadvantages, of his particular locality, in order to avoid mistakes and to secure the best results for his efforts. Con

tinued success cannot be expected unless the most improved measures are adopted in dealing with the many problems which he encounters. The orchard must be managed in such a way as to produce crops of perfect fruit without reducing the vitality of the trees or exhausting the fertility of the soil. If any of the essential conditions for the best development of the crop is overlooked, loss is sure to follow.

One of the chief causes for the loss of vitality of trees is due to the attacks of insect pests and plant diseases and the annual losses resulting from them are enormous. The spraying of orchards for the control of these pests has been practiced so successfully by the leading fruit growers of this country that it would seem entirely unnecessary, at such a meeting as this, to present facts to show that it is a profitable and essential undertaking.

Conditions in Ohio have not developed to such an extent that extensive spraying operations are attempted for the protection of other property, but the time will come when serious attention must be given to protecting the trees and ornamental shrubbery in cities and towns from the increasing number of pests that attack them, and when owners realize the importance of this work active spraying will be undertaken. The San Jose scale is already doing serious damage to fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs in many cities in this state, and during the past year the elm leaf beetle, which is very destructive in the eastern states, has been found in the city of Dayton. These facts simply indicate the situation and bear out the assertion that spraying will have more general application in the future.

The pests that the fruit grower must combat are legion, and, as most of them exist in several different stages, which are widely dissimilar, it is often difficult to detect the particular one that is doing the injury. In many cases comparatively simple remedies may be applied, and the pest is sometimes of such a nature that spraying would be absolutely useless. For instance, it has been found impossible to combat peach yellows or pear blight, both of which are diseases, by means of spraying, while black knot that attacks the plum and cherry can be controlled by cutting off and burning the affected parts. Such diseases as rot, mildew, scab and leaf spot, which affect many horticultural crops, can be controlled by spraying, if it is applied at the proper time. Bordeaux mixture is the standard fungicide, and is an invaluable remedy for plant diseases.

Among the insects of the orchard, two distinct types must be recognized; namely, those that feed upon the tissue of the host and those that suck the sap. Poison sprays are of little value for destroying the latter, because they do not eat the tissue, and no practical means have yet been discovered for poisoning the sap of the plant in order to destroy these pests. They must be destroyed by the application of a contact insecticide. This class of insects has been responsible for the preparation of all manner of remedies to be applied to the trunks of the trees, in order that they may be absorbed by the sap, and thus destroy pests of every description. Truly marvelous results have been obtained, according to the stories told by the agents for these delusions, and they have been remarkably successful as a means of securing revenue for the owners. Thousands of dollars have been obtained from the public in this

manner.

It must be understood, however, that insects exist in several distinct stages, some of which it is wholly impractical to combat, and that the entomologist must often work out the complete life cycle of the pest before a satisfactory remedy can be advised. Such work takes time and often requires patient study and observation, and, in order to facilitate such investigations, large sums of money are spent annually by the Federal Government and State institutions. -O. S. B. of A.

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The essential qualities of a good insecticide are that it will kill the insects without injuring the trees, and that it is cheap and can be easily applied. This statement, which is apparently simple in itself, covers the entire field of insecticidal investigations. Poisons, such as paris green, or better still, arsenate of lead, which is sold under the trade name of disparene, should be used against insects that eat the foliage or the fruit. The former, if used, should be applied at the rate of one pound to one hundred and fifty gallons of water, and if the sample is of good quality a greater strength can be used without injuring the foliage. The latter is a more satisfactory poison, although more expensive, and it is usually applied at the rate of three pounds to fifty gallons of water. Stronger solutions do not injure foliage. It is advisable to add bordeaux mixture to the poison spray in order to check fungus diseases. Summer treatment for sucking insects, such as plant lice, should consist of diluted kerosene emulsion or whale oil soap mixture, used at the rate of one pound to four gallons of water. As a winter wash for San Jose scale, the lime and sulfur wash has no equal. This is made by boiling together fifty pounds of sulfur with fifty pounds of stone lime, while the latter is slacking, and diluting the mixture with water to make one hundred and fifty gallons of wash. Boiling must continue for one hour, or until a dark, yellowish-brown liquid results.

Most orchard crops have their distinctive pests, hence it is impossible to give an ironclad rule for treating all kinds of trees. Some fruit growers consider only the result of the work of orchard pests, and do not pay enough attention to ascertaining the cause of the trouble. In order to spray intelligently, it is necessary to know the character of the pest, or pests, which do the damage, so that proper remedies can be applied at the right time. If an apple orchard is sprayed with poison when the leaves are small, in order to destroy the canker worm, it must not be expected that this will prevent the fruit from becoming wormy, as this is caused by the codling moth, an entirely different insect, and more treatments are required to hold it in check.

Among the pests that are doing the greatest damage in Ohio orchards may be mentioned the San Jose scale, codling moth, plum curculio, canker worm, peach borer, peach yellows, pear blight, peach leaf curl, apple scab, plum rot and shot-hole fungus that attacks the leaves of the plum and cherry. Many other pests are seriously injurious locally, and special measures must be taken. to hold them in control. All of these pests, except the peach borer and such. diseases as have been previously referred to, can be controlled by systematic spraying.

The attention which any fruit grower pays to spraying is an index of the general care taken of his orchard, for the reason that if he is sufficiently interested to spray thoroughly at the proper time, regardless of other farm work which appears to be necessary, he will also give careful attention to the other orchard operations.

Ohio is one of the largest fruit growing states of the Union. According to the census of 1900 the value of her fruits was $8,901,220, and this amount was exceeded by only three states, namely, California, New York and Pennsylvania. In apple production she was exceeded only by New York and Pennsylvania, and yet Ohio is essentially a state of small orchards. As far as is known to the writer, no great five hundred or one thousand acre commercial orchards exist.

From the agricultural statistics reported by county auditors, and published by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, it will be found that from 1899, the year that the census was taken, to 1903, the area planted to fruit has decreased seventy-four thousand one hundred and forty-one acres, and of this