carefully kept and cared for-and paying a bounty for timber-planting. These things might be considered to-day to be expensive to the tax-payers, but in a few years it would be fully demonstrated to be an unmixed blessing. Our county commissioners should offer an annual premium for the best, most vigorous, and carefully kept "planted forest;" and our local fair associations could do good, and themselves credit, by doing the same thing. With the facts and figures before us, and the ever-increasing demand for wood, there is no danger of overdoing the work. The comfort to man and. beast, in furnishing shade from the burning rays of the sun in summer and protection from the cold blasts of winter, is another great item in the profit, as every stock feeder well knows.

But there is a higher and nobler thought than the mere dollars and cents made out of it, in contemplation of this subject. There is nothing beneath the heavens--except the culture of flowers-that so ennobles the mind and refines the character as the culture and care of trees. Just contemplate for a moment a home surrounded by choice trees, the sweet perfume of their bloom wafted upon every breeze, their swaying branches answering to every wind, with their stately heads crowned with a green coronal, bowing continually to the presence of the Great Author of all. Compare such a home with the four bare walls, unpainted, of exposed houses, everywhere seen upon our Western prairies, with a chicken-coop in front of the door, and the pig-stye generating perfumes for the kitchen door, and your feelings, I imagine, would take about as great a tumble as they would were you contemplating, for the first time, the grandeur of the Yosemite, or the magnificence of Niagara, drinking in the immensity of the scene, not realizing whether you were standing upon water, air, or terra firma; your heart full, and your brain "all a-whirl" with the thoughts of Nature's magnificence-were some one to take hold of your elbow and offer you a roll of "Bologna sausage."

Did you ever think, too, of tracing national character by the national preference for a particular variety of tree? The strong, sturdy oak is the special pride of our Northern States-the cypress of the Southern. The sharp, prickly-burred chestnut is the pride of Spain. The rugged larch, in its bold picturesqueness, is the glory of the hardy inhabitants of the mountains of Tyrol; while the Lombardy poplar, with more of show than utility, is the adored of France. And what Israelite's heart does not grow warm within him at the mention of the cedar of Lebanon, whose praises were sung by the royal Psalmist, wishing his nation to be as enduring as the wood of his favorite tree? The inhabitants of the Scandinavian peninsula think there is no such tree as the Norway or Scotch pine; while those who live upon our own Pacific slope, who can think of no business transactions less than a line of ocean steamers or a million-dollar gold mine, can take no pride in anything short of the giant red-wood.

Thus study the peculiar characteristics of the tree, and great degree of correctness, divine the habits of the nation.

you may, with a Just so of indi

vidual character. That man is nobler, better, who plants a tree and cares for it, and trains it so that in after-years he may sit beneath its shade and meditate upon the blessings of God to man -not least of which is the assurance that he may sit in peace beneath the vine and tree of his own planting.

Trees are the fig-leaves with which Nature attempts to hide her nakedness, and go to help make up all the beautiful in Nature. In their contemplation man is drawn into closer communion with Nature's God, and nearer and nearer to all that is grand and good. Bryant has truly said: "To him who in the love of Nature holds communion with her visible forms, she speaks a various language. For his gayer hours she has a voice of gladness and a smile and eloquence of beauty, and she glides into his dark musings with a mild and gentle sympathy, that steals away their sharpness ere he is aware."

Let us appropriate to our individual use some of the gentle influences of this same Nature, and make our homes happy and the world better by planting more trees than we consume. Let us not be idle recipients of Nature's beauty, but rather leave the world better and more joyous, and better suited for giving true pleasure to man, than it was when we came into it. I cannot see how we can do this if we go through life destroying those things that go to make up the enjoyments of our existence. Rather is it our duty to make it better by multiplying those blessings: then can we indeed depart in peace. To all of us in the direction I have indicated comes the command"So live, that when thy summons comes to join

The innumerable caravan that moves

To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take

His chamber in the silent halls of death,

Then go not like the quarry slave, at night,

Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

FINAL RESOLUTIONS.

Resolved, That the thanks of the members of this Society are due and hereby extended to the citizens of Beloit and vicinity, for their hospitality during the sessions of this our Ninth Semi-Annual Meeting.

Resolved, That our thanks are due to E. A. Taylor, Secretary of the Northwestern Horticultural Society, and his associates as committee of arrangements, for their constant courtesy and attention to the members of this Society, and their untiring efforts to make the sessions interesting and profitable.

Resolved, That thanks are hereby expressed to the Glee Club for the fine music furnished during the last session of the meeting.

Resolved, That our thanks are especially due to the various railways, viz., Kansas Pacific, U. P. C. B., M. K. & T., A. T. & S. F., K. C. Ft. S. & G., and L. L. & G., for their liberal reduction in fare, and courtesy extended to our members.

G. Y. JOHNSON, Chairman. On motion, the Ninth Semi-Annual Meeting closed its sessions, sine die.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING,

HELD AT HOLTON, KANSAS,

ON DECEMBER 16TH, 17TH, AND 18TH, 1879.

On call of the President, the Society assembled at the city of Holton, Jackson county, Tuesday, December 16th, 1879, and opened its Thirteenth Annual Session at 10:00 A. M., in the hall of the court house, President Gale in the chair.

Rev. J. Denison, of Holton, led the exercises with prayer.

The following committees were announced by the President:

Committee of Arrangements-Dr. V. V. Adamson, Holton; Dr. J. C. Chase, Holton; Geo. Y. Johnson, Lawrence..

Committee on Review of Membership-Prof. E. Gale, Dr. Jos. Denison, Sam. Reynolds.

Committee on Membership-Dr. V. V. Adamson, Jacob Hixon, J. W. Williams.

Committee on Credentials-Dr. J. Stayman, E. A. Coleman, A. N. Godfrey. Committee on Resolutions-G. Y. Johnson, J. W. Robson, Abner Allen. Auditing Committee-G. Y. Johnson, H. E. Van Deman, N. P. Deming. Committee on Final Resolutions-F. Wellhouse, J. W. Robson, E. A. Cole

man.

The Committee of Arrangements reported the following order for sessions: Opening of sessions—at 9 o'clock A. M., 1: 30 o'clock P. M., 7:30 o'clock P. M. Closing of sessions-at 12 o'clock M., 5 o'clock P. M., 10 o'clock P. M.

IN MEMORIAM OF PROF. B. F. MUDGE, DECEASED.

BY COMMITTEE ON REVIEW OF MEMBERSHIP.

It is our sad duty to chronicle the death of Prof. B. F. Mudge, which occurred very suddenly on the 21st day of November last.

As a member of our Society, and an earnest friend of horticulture, we feel that the occasion calls for some fitting notice on our part. While his own (47)

life was devoted to the interest of pure science, we know from his frequent attendance upon our meetings, and his well-remembered addresses, that he was thoroughly in sympathy with not only horticulture, but everything that could promote the development of his adopted State. And it is not with an ordinary feeling of sorrow that we record the departure of one bound by so many ties to the interests of Kansas. We feel as we review his life-long work in behalf of science, and remember how he has been identified with the cause of education for many years, that few men will gather a larger or more varied circle of genuine mourners.

For eighteen

Prof. Mudge was a little more than sixty-two years old. years he was engaged in the practice of law in Lynn, Mass. During this time, however, he was almost constantly identified with the educational interests of the city and of the State. He thus indicated where his real lifework lay, giving evidence that he could be happy only as he found work somewhere in connection with the education of our youth. The large geological cabinet which he brought from the East and donated to the State Agricultural College attests that even in his earlier manhood he was pervaded by the same enthusiastic love of science that characterized his later years up to the very last day of his life. His connection with those engaged in kindred pursuits has been intimate and pleasant. His name is by them associated with several new species or forms which he has given to science.

As a teacher among teachers he has long been honored and loved. A very large number of pupils will count Prof. Mudge as one of their best friends. As a citizen and neighbor he was ever ready to speak out in behalf of the right; and with a rare unselfishness did he minister to the wants of those around him. If the community has lost so much in the death of Prof. Mudge, how can we express the loss of that little home circle where in their loneliness they gather to be reminded by everything of the departed?

As one of the founders of the Academy of Science, and its president at the time of his death; as one of the faculty of the State Agricultural College for many years; as one of the most faithful friends of the State Teachers' Association; as one of the most enthusiastic collectors in the interests of geology, both for the Kansas State Agricultural College and for Yale College; and as a friend and sympathizer with the efforts of our own Society, the memory of Prof. B. F. Mudge will be long and faithfully cherished.

Dr. Denison indorsed the sentiments of the report with appropriate remarks.

METEOROLOGY.

REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE- PROF. F. HAWN, LEAVENWORTH.

The last half of the meteorological year was as peculiar as the first. The excessive and abnormal rains in June were followed by a drouth and lack of rain extending from the 9th of July through August, in which month less than one-fourth of an inch of water fell, and ending on the 10th of September,

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with an aggregate precipitation of less than four and three-quarters inches in sixty-four days. During this drouth the signal storm maps do not show a single storm line located through Kansas. Then again, the heavy rains in the autumn months produced an excess of 8.01 inches above the average.

Mr. Rhode, signal officer in charge of the Leavenworth station, in his report, observes that "the total rainfall during the month (June) was 9.90 inches. With the exception of June, 1877, (the total of that month was 10 inches,) this was the heaviest June fall in eleven years past; the June average is 5.38 inches."

In the three days including the 9th, 10th and 11th, 3.26 inches fell. A still greater fall occurred on the 27th, which was 3.43 inches. On these two periods, including four days, there fell a fraction over two-thirds of the amount of the precipitation of the month.

There was another peculiarity connected with these June rains. By examining the rain map of the United States Signal Service for June, you will find that those copious rains were confined mostly to northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, between the 93d and 97th meridians, while excessive drouths prevailed elsewhere. In the South Atlantic States, in the Gulf States, and in Tennessee, the rains were fifty per cent. below the average, and in some localities of these, destructive drouths prevailed, notably in Texas.

A lack of the normal rains, too, seems to have been general elsewhere, except in the lower and upper Missouri valleys, where there was an excess of 1.30 and 0.47 inches respectively. This excess probably resulted from the late snows in the Rocky Mountains toward the northwest, where a snow storm occurred as late as the 4th of July.

Then again, when our drouth prevailed in August, the South Atlantic States, the Gulf States, and Tennessee had fifty per cent. more rain than their average, with great floods in several places, notably in Texas; while the lower and upper Missouri valleys showed a deficiency of over fifty per cent., exactly the reverse of their humid conditions of June. It would seem that if our rains are precipitated from the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, there would have been a greater sympathy or similarity in the weather of the Gulf States and here, than was shown during last summer.

The temperature of the summer, and other atmospheric conditions except those previously stated, were normal.

In autumn, the atmospheric conditions were again reversed. The protracted drouth of the latter part of the summer was succeeded by copious rains in autumn, with a total fall of double the average. The mean temperature was four degrees above the average of thirty years. These produced

a stimulated condition in vegetation. The low temperature and dearth of rain in the early autumn, predisposed the forests to put on their autumnal garb, and its foliage had assumed quite gay colors. But when the rains commenced, and with them an abnormal high temperature, that portion of

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