The Mena weekly star., 1908-08-13
HORTICULTURt'S NEEDS
K. Osborn Writes of Its Difficulties and Asks for Help to Fight
 Enemies.

us one 10 read paper on horti culture.
 Horticulture means the scieac, of cultivating the ground, auC those who follow 1t as an occu9a ton find 1t beset with many ob stacles, among which are som, that have baffled the skill If oul most scientific men. We have their experience written and wt still find ourselves coufouuded, perplexed ard defeated. The ex perience of our own endeavor an6 the experience of others left or record IS all we know, aid 1t Is d fact that horticulture Is far be. hind most all other sciences. Ii needs financial help. Our ,egis. latures should be bombarded with resolutions from every horticul. tural society in the land until au appropriation be made sufficien, to keep our experimental stations fully equipped, until victory is won.
 Ii tue same extensive expert ments were made in horticulture that have been made on iron aud steel; the pear blight, peach rot, apple diseases and kindred affec- tions would not be a menace to the fruit growers of today. Con. siderlng the progress in iron aud steel, 1t is said that away back in the dark ages the people would, by perhaps as much skill in that peculiar art as the artisan of today, m e d blade of flint, drive 1t into the fork of growing bush and wait for it to grow fast, then with other flint tools cut it out, and thus make a handle. We fre- quently find flint tools usel by the savages of our own Indian tribes. Iron Is extracted from the rocks. Steel, a product of iron by scientific process through experimental trials, has reached as we may think, perfection; while horticulture has been neg leted. We stand bewildered and perplexed and see our pear trees blight, our peaches rot. We place a rotten peach under glass with great magnlfying power. We discover ble little wbile insects perambulating at their own will; so with a blighted twig from your pear. TEese in sects, up to the prescut time, have not been arrested. Many remedies h ve been recommend ed, but, so fir as 1 am concerned, 1 have failed. 1 cannot re1ily say .hat 1 have followed auy spe' cifc directions For pear blight, cut out all affected twigs and burn. The government bulletin says the disease is so courageous that your kuife should he dipped into a solution of corrosive ol sublimate to disinfect 1t.
 For peach worms and browr rot, pick up all fallen fruit, feed it to hogs or sheep, or burg ol put into a barrel of water, or any other old thing. I have not done all these things (Neithcr dC many. if any, of you) Then 1T addition, spray, spray, spray thoroue hly. We don't do al these things. We can't do 1t ant make living. l. is easy to tel other people to keep the golden rule or the decalog gue-m much easiel than to do it ourselves.
 Let me say in conclusion tha horticulture must succeed. It IS matter of life and death. Man | simply a moving plant or insect If you prefer so to call him. There is one thing certain, separate hin from the soil or it's products -hort time and so much of hiu as we can see disappears. See' time and harvest must contiuu' If man continues in this vale O tears. These facts being true lit behooves us to be up and doing i The insect world is on the ia crease. Man has failed to comba Ii m. He is getting in his worI in every direction; be attack
 not only our foodstuH but ou
 material tor clothing. Cotton 1 threatened with an irreistabl
 army of different pests.
 The government IS taking
 hand in trying to find remedie
 for some of these pests Uu
 state should lend helping hanu
 If something cannot be done | check the downward tendency
 humanity may be turned 'u naked and to starve. Altnous some of us still have very goo
 clothes and plenty to eat let J ask our legislators not to forge
 horticulture ln our state
 K. Osborn