REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF THE STATE AT LARGE.

[Submitted at the meeting of the board, November 16, 1892.]

To the Honorable State Board of Horticulture:

GENTLEMEN On November 2, 1891, having received notice from Mr. Henry Denny, of Green Lake, King county, that there were orchards around him infested with some kind of pest, and requesting that I examine them, I spent three days in the orchards at Green Lake, Fremont and Ballard. The green aphis was the only pest found, and for this the winter wash was recommended. The fruit

stands at these places were inspected, but found to be free from pests.

On January 11, 1892, having received notice from the secretary of this board that certain places in Seattle contained fruit infested with San José scale, which was being offered for sale, and being requested to inspect the places, I made a diligent search and found forty-five boxes badly affected with this scale. The sale of this fruit was stopped, and it was ordered disinfected. There were 100 boxes in the lot when they arrived, fifty-five having been sold before I inspected them. Search was made for the portion that had been sold in stores and commission houses and places where fruit was sold, but only one box could be found.

Inspection was again made at Seattle February 2d, 18th and 19th, but the shipments which then arrived were free from any scale. On March 3d inspection was again made of fruit which appeared to be infested, but it was found to have been fumigated. On the 16th and 17th inspection was made of orchards on the island, which were found to have been treated according to directions given in formulas recommended by the board.

On November 1st, after notice by the secretary, I went to Christopher to inspect the nursery stock of J. A. Stewart. After careful examination, found it in excellent condition and to all appearances free from all pests. He sprayed three times during summer and fall. Green aphis and pear slug were all he had to contend with. I gave certificate November 4th, and went to Seattle, notice having been given me that nursery stock was being shipped, and to

proceed there to inspect. After looking over the city, found only one agent had received his stock - S. C. Espy, agent for J. M. Ogle, of Puyallup. Mr. Espy said Mr. Ogle had a certificate of inspection from one of the board, but wished me to examine the stock, and if found all right, would like a certificate to that effect. After careful examination, and finding it all right, I gave a certificate.

November 10th I went to Seattle to examine the nursery stock of B. L. Northup, agent for Whitney's nursery, Walla Walla. Finding it all right I gave a certificate.

I inspected the nursery of W. R. Elliott, of the Queen City Floral Co. His stock was also from the Whitney nursery. It was clean. The nursery, Mr. Elliott said, had been inspected by Inspector D. M. Jessee. I gave a certificate.

On November 14th, at Seattle, Messrs. Burrow & Million had received a large stock from Oregon. I was very careful in inspecting this stock, but could not find any insect, egg or larva, and gave a certificate.

November 15th, I went to North Seattle to see Mr. Cave, who is agent for May Bros., Minneapolis. But very little of his stock is in yet; it is expected here this week.

I went to see Hopkins & Sons, but their stock has not arrived. Will here state that the nursery stock I have inspected is the best I have seen for years and is a credit to the State of Washington, where it was raised, with one exception; but the stock that is to arrive this week from the east may not be so fine, and will be subjected to careful examination, as I hear some eastern growers are sending large quantities of woolly aphis to this state, which should and must be carefully watched.

I am glad to state that the people are taking more interest in trying to get rid of their enemies, viz., the fruit pest, and during the next two years I confidently expect to see a wonderful change in this respect. With our much improved solutions and the general education of the people on this line, and with concerted action with the board, means death to the pest and wealth to the producer. JOHN T. BLACKBURN,

Very respectfully,

Commissioner State at Large.

ESSAY LIBRARY AND MISCELLANEOUS.

PRUNING FRUIT TREES.

[Read before the State Board of Horticulture at its meeting, held at the office of the board, April 11 to 13, 1892, by the president, Henry Bucey.]

This subject, whenever and wherever presented to horticulturists, finds many conflicting and diversified opinions and views as to the proper manner of pruning a fruit tree.

Therefore, I deem it proper that I should set forth certain conditions existing in nature with most all fruit trees, and, in respect to these conditions, I arrive at a conclusion which I have practiced with the best results as to the proper method of pruning fruit trees, and I do not hesitate to say that when practiced by fruit growers they will adopt no other.

The stem, or trunk, and branches of a tree are structurally composed of minute cells, or tubes. If you cut a green stick from a tree and let it season a short time, you will notice at the end where cut minute cells, or tube holes. The casual observer will conclude that these small openings lead down as sap tubes continuously until they reach the root of the tree. But such is not the case, for these tubes are very short and have side entrances from other cells through their cell walls; in this manner the sap ascends from the root by force of capillary attraction and is distributed throughout the body and branches of a tree until it reaches the leaf bud and the leaf of the tree, when a process of elaboration takes place through the agency of the leaves, which bring the sap from the roots in contact with the gases of the air. Here a certain portion of the sap is evaporated, the remainder, through the influence and aid of the gases, forms a mucilaginous substance, which, after its formation, descends between the wood and inner bark of the tree, thus forming a new growth of wood and bark. The young leaves of a tree have greater power of elaboration than older leaves. Thus, when fresh, young leaves are upon a tree the flow of sap is more copious than when they are fully matured. Hence, the terminal buds and leaves receive a greater portion of the sap flow than others, and, if not interrupted, greater growth will be made with the terminal shoots than side branches.

You undoubtedly have noticed in yearling trees that they all have more or less pith in the center of the main stem. When a tree starts to grow, these little cells and tubes commence to form from the pith of the tree outward, consecutively adding to with each year's growth. My observation is that the pith of a young tree is always greater proportionately than in older trees, and remarkably so.

A young plant is naturally more likely to grow very thriftily the first year and to retain its growing condition until late in the fall, and is thus likely to have liquid water in the sap tubes when cold weather sets in; if so, as soon as the exterior wood fiber or cell wall begins to contract from the cold, the liquid water is driven from the outer cells, through the partition entrance to the interior cells, until it reaches the pith of the tree, where it is taken up and held. If it freezes here it does not injure the tree. But if a tree of the same age had been cut back in the spring until it had thrown out numerous shoots, which had retained a condition of growth late in the fall, the amount of water liquid found in such tree when freezing weather comes on could not be taken up in the pith of the tree, but a portion of it, after retreating as far as possible, would be caught and frozen in the sap vessels of the tree. The result would

be that the sap vessels would burst by the expansion of the frozen sap, and the cellular system by which the sap ascends in the spring would be either destroyed or greatly injured; the tree then would. either die or would slowly decay at the heart and finally die prematurely.

As a proof of this theory, you may cut a limb from a tree that is hardy when the thermometer registers twenty degrees below zero; take a sliver from the limb and you will not detect any appearance of frost, but it is as pliant as if cut before freezing took place. You then split the limb open and you will see the frost glisten in the pith, and there only.

Now, back to pruning. If you cut back young trees after they are set out each year and give them good cultivation, you will undoubtedly keep trees growing very late in the fall, and if the trees are growing in a climate where the thermometer will register in the neighborhood of zero, you run a great risk of having your trees injured by the sap freezing in the cells, and killed, or prematurely injured, by heartrot setting in. By the method of cutting back you keep strong shoots growing and terminal buds constantly expanding during the growing season.

Starting with a yearling tree, which should be a straight shoot without side branches, my practice in pruning is

The spring before growth commences I cut it off about four feet from the ground. When the buds expand upon this stem, I take hold of the tree about eight inches from the top and rub all the buds off below to the ground, leaving those buds on this eight inches of top to develop and form limbs. When these limbs have grown about eighteen to twenty inches I pinch off the young ter-' minal bud. This checks the growth in that direction and causes the embryo buds under the leaf stem to develop and throw out a side branch; in doing this, the main limb, instead of being long and slender, begins to grow larger in diameter very fast, and the result is that you will have accomplished what persons desired to accomplish by cutting back their trees; that is, to get the bearing wood closer to the body of the tree. By this plan you save your last year's wood growth, and by the plan of cutting back you throw it away. While one mode of pruning preserves the tree from frost, the other leaves it exposed. By the pinching back process you will have your tree top well balanced, and all the necessary cutting away will be to thin out some small limbs to let air and sunshine in to mature the leaves and buds, and give color to and ripen the fruit. need A tree pruned in this manner you may cultivate well, and you not fear any loss by frost, let your winter be ever so cold.

THE LIBRARY.

The following list of books has been collected during the past year. The reports issued by nearly all the horticultural societies. in the United States, and bulletins of the various experiment stations, are received. It is our aim to continue the collection until a complete library of all standard horticultural works is gathered: A, B, C, of Potato Culture, by T. B. Terry. Annals of Horticulture, by Bailey.

Asparagus Culture, by James Barnes.

A, B, C, of Agriculture, by Mason C. Weld.

Bommer Method of Making Manure, by George Bommer.

Book of the Farm, by George E. Waring, jr.

Broom Corn and Brooms, by Editors American Agriculturist.

Cabbages and Cauliflowers, by J. J. H. Gregory.

California Flora, by Rattan.

Carrots, Mangold Wurtzels and Sugar Beets, by J. J. H. Gregory.

Cranberry Culture, by Joseph J. White.

Draining for Profit and Health, by George E. Warring, jr.