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A   WEEKLY JOURNAL   OF   THE FARM,  HOME,  AND   GARDEN.
Vol. VHI.
NDIANAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 27, 1873.
No. 4.
INDIANA FARMER,
(Formerly North-Western Farmer.)
ONLY AGRICULTURAL PAPER IN INDIANA.
Devotes a Department to the interests of the
—     Order of the Patrons or Husbandry.
Organ of Indiana State Board of Agriculture.
Endorsed by Indiana Horticultural Society, Indiana
Short-Horn Breeders' Convention, and many
County and District Societies.
J. O: KINGSBURY & BRO., Publishers.
OFFICE, No. 4=, Journal -Building:.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND.
Subscription Tbrms.—$2.00; to clubs of four or
more, 61.75 each. **    „
Advertising Terms : Ordinary pages 15 cents per
line, nonpareil measure, first insertion; extra charge
for special location; special notices, 20 cents.
'    ■ [For the Indiana Farmer.   ■
Meeting of the  AniPrlcan Pomological
.- Society.
Thinking yonr readers might be interested
in the Exhibition of the American Pomological Society, I send.you a few notes. As
this society was organized in 1848, this is
the twenty-fifth year of its existence. Hon.
Marshall P. Wilder, (who still fills the
chair),.was chosen "President, with a Vice-
President -from every State in the Union.
The interest of the occasion is increased by
the annual plant and flower show of the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, (held
in Music Hall at the same time), by whose
invitation the American Pomological Society hold their quarter-centennial in this
city. Another important reason for its
celebrating its silver wedding in Boston, is
the fact of its being the home of its veteran
president. Three or four hundred delegates,
from all parts of the United Slates and the
Canadas, were said to be present at the
business meeting in Wesieyan Hall, when,
after welcoming them " to the city, to their
halls, their hospitality and their homes,"
Mr. Wilder congratulated the Pomological
Society on the large attendance, after which
was a general hand-shaking.
The.display of fruits in Horticultural
Hall was never excelled on this continent.
The lower hall is occupied with fruits from
Massachusetts and vicinity, though some of
the home fruits appear in the upper hall.
The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, far famed for
i his efforts in fruit growing, i overs one table
the entire length of the hall with samples
of the different varities of pears which he
has under cultivation. In the lower hall
may be seen some beautiful grapes from
Fall River, Massachusetts, and a ripe fine
apple from West Newton. On ascending
to the upper hall, we first see New Hampshire's table well filled with the hardy fruits
of the Granite State. Vermont next has a
fine display of apples. Rhode Island, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Virginia, and many
other States, are well represented. The
celebrated nurseries of New York occupy
a large space with fine specimens of fruit.
Iowa has 135 named ^varieties of apples,
while the South Haven Society of Michigan
have a fine display of pears, plums, etc.
We pause at a table pn which is posted.
"Nebraska, The Great American Desert.
Such delicious fruit I thought far more suggestive of the " Garden of Eden." The
display from Kansas was very large and interesting. The Pruif. Growers Association
from Ontario, Canada West, had a very fine
show of pears, peaches, grapes, and beautiful plums. One of the most attractive
tables was that of California. I never before saw such mammoth fruit—such pears
ahd apples—such clusters of grapes.' Then
there were various fruits from Utah;
Fifty States and Territories were represented. The exhibition of shrubs, plants
and flowers, in Music Hall, is the finest
ever collected in this city. The best nurseries and greenhouses in the suburbs have
contributed to the display, and such forests
of beautiful tropical plants one rarely sees.
Tall feathery palms lift their head3 toward
the ceiling in the center of the hall, and
enormous ferns, almost as large as trees,'
droop over our heads as we pass by, one
plant, a native of Mexico, being two and a
half yards high, and each leaf three-quarters, of a yard broad. Beautiful foilage
plants, elegant baskets of drooping vines,
and stands of plants, were in profusion,
while cut flowers display their splendid
colors from the sides of the room.' The
balconies are a mass of bloom, while in
front of the great organ is a beautiful floral
display. Snch an .exhibition of fruit and
flowers is seldom' seen. While gazing
with delight, an old gentleman said to me
"I think Heaven will-be something like
this, don't you ?" To which I responded
from my heart, " I hope so," and with one
long lingering look behind I turned to go.
The Exhibition closes tomorrow evening
with a grand banquet. M. J. G.
Boston, Mass., Sept. 11, 1873.
* For the Indiana Farmer.
Letter from Paris, France.
M. Reynal, director of the Veterinary
College of Alfort, has published an exhaustive work on the diseases of domestic animals, but principally the rinderpest, and
the mean's for combating contagious maladies. From 186S to 1872, France imported
over one million head of black cattle, six
and half millions of Bheep, and nearly one
of pigs, representing a total value of over
two and a half millions of francs—equal to
one half the ransom debt paid to Germany.
Hence the necessity of preventing the entry
of'contagious diseases into the country; to
check which, M. Reynal proposes an efficient
sanitary police on the frontier, the. inspection there, by vets, of the live stock, and
the slaughtering of animals intended for
the market as near the boundaries of the
realm as possible. The origin and home of
the cattle typhus,is, he believes, in the east;
it appeared during the first century of the
christian era in Europe, coming from the
south-west of China with the Huns, and advancing with the march of armies and the
migrations of peoples. Tbe disease never
develops itself spontaneously in Europe—
contagion is its sole cause; nor are peculiar
races predisposed to it, though certain districts are fated to be the focus of the infection. Anything iu the vicinity of the
affected animal, whether living or dead, can
spread the contagion, hence, isolation and
disinfection, with a judicious slaughtering,
of the suspected. The Inspector, General
of Veterinary medicine, insists on killing,
the suspected without any conditions. M.
Reynal does not state if the flesh of the
diseased animals may be eaten. The prevalent theory with a large school of practical experimenters is, that the flesh of every
animal, so long as it is not putrid, is fit for
food, irrespective of the disease under which
it may have succumbed. M. Reynal considers the foot and mouth disease to be
troublesome rather' than dangerous, and
fatal only when the animal is neglected or~
over-fatigued; the disease attacks barn door
fowls, and the flesh and milk of cows infected are harmless. The author does not
consider the tubercular consumption -to
which cattle are liable—that in the case of
sheep and pigs taking- another form—to be
contagious, however, equally eminent authorities believe it to be so, and hence, the
question may be considered as unsettled... .
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