tion not
mulched at all, that suffered more than any other this year from the
tarnished plant bug.

CENTRAL DISTRICTS.

Mr. Vickroy reported for Central Illinois. In August of the present year
he visited the orchards in the vicinity of Champaign, among them the
noted Hall fruit farm, near Savoy. He found the orchards in fair
condition. Many were sheltered by belts of trees. He observed that in
the lower or bottom land he found in connection with drainage, the best
orchards and the healthiest trees, and that on the more rolling or
higher grounds the trees were not as hardy nor did not bear as well. His
observations led him to believe in the draining of orchards, although it
was opposed to his previous education and of the teachings he had
received in this society. He regarded the experimental orchard which he
visited at Champaign a failure, for the very reason that it was on too
high ground; that the trees were dying, and many were not bearing. There
were, however, some varieties that showed good fruit. In his visit
referred to, he found the following varieties of apples did well in this
latitude:

Fall Varieties--First, Snow; second, Standard; third, Maiden Blush;
fourth, Colvert; fifth, Baker Sweet; sixth, Pound Sweet; seventh, Fall
Romanite.

Winter Varieties--First, Minkler; second, Rawles' Genet; third, Willow
Twig; fourth, Little Romanite; fifth, English Russet; sixth, Ben Davis;
seventh, Michael Henry Pippin; eighth, Jonathan; ninth, Gravenstein;
tenth, Rome Beauty.

In varieties in pears he gave the Howell and the Bartlett. In grapes he
recommended the Martha in white grapes.

GRAPES.

Mr. E.A. Riehl, of Alton, read a very exhaustive and complete report on
grapes and grape culture, including the so-called grape rot. The
suggested remedies were bagging and training vines up on elevated wires,
so the sun and air could get freely to the fruit. This point was
combated by Dr. Shroeder. Grapes ripen best in the shade. Another
gentleman suggested that with the wire system as suggested by Mr. Riehl,
the grapes are shaded by the foliage in all the hottest part of the day.

INSECTS.

Prof. Forbes gave a learned and scientific dissertation on contagious
diseases of insects, and a number of germinal diseases, and experimental
and successful attempts to kill them. The Professor showed that nausea
is contagious and may be transferred by diseased worms, and that
therefore the spread of disease in worms would