Club Minutes: Horticultural Society, 1966

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just sprays the vines with Ammate, it would not affect surroundings.

Francis Thomas started a story, that some of us had heard before, by advising us to be very careful about taking advice from anyone, even one's own Father. It seems that many years ago his Father took him out at night on a bee-hunting expedition, with beehats, mosquito netting, gloves, axes and the whole works, especially the lantern. The story seemed endless, but we all knew who got stung holding the lantern whle a bee-tree was being felled.

Bea Wilson has an upright Yew bush to be removed and will give it to anyone who will come get it and haul it away.

Grace Thomas has heard that nothing will grow under a walnut tree. There seems to be nothing to that story. Perhaps it is too alkaline so nothing acid will grow, or vice versa, but someone has tomatoes growing under a walnut tree.

John Weske wants to know how to keep blackbirds from eating his blueberries? Cover the vines with 1/4 inch bird net and hang sections of a broken mirror around, which works better than aluminum for chasing them away.

With everyone's questions so satisfactorily answered, the President adjourned the meeting at 9:05 pm, to meet again in August at his own home.

Alan F. Thomas, Secretary

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August 2-1966 - In our 103rd Year At the Home of Ulric and Rose Hutton

As we returned once more to meet with our President and his charming lady, in a beautiful setting and home that seems to be nameless, we found that they had not had any more rain than the rest of us. In fact, the only greenery to be seen were the evergreens themselves and the two dozen or more experimental potted plants that Ulric was persuading to grow individually. The brown lawn and almost everything was showing the effects of the continued long draught.

The tables were again filled with many times their weight in calories for our gleeful consumption. There was a table on the porch and one out on the lawn, and those of us who were eating outside were very pleasantly surprised, while getting ready for dessert, with a five-minute shower that made us all scamper inside. There was hardly enough rain to settle the dust, so we were roaming outside again after dinner until the meeting convened at 7:45 pm.

President Ulric Hutton greeted their guests: Mrs Bernice Kendall, Mrs Catherine Adams, Dr and Mrs Lorne Garretson and little Elizabeth Brooke Garretson, just beginning her journeys on two feet. At this time we missed the Canbys, the Goffs, Helen Farquhar, Dale Thomas and John Weske. The Secretary's minutes of the previous meeting were read and accepted.

Our Reader, Francis Thomas, decided to present an article that had nothing to do with horticulture, but one which gave us a grave warning on "The Nightmare of Prescription Drugs" in the Science and Mechanics magazine.. Physicians are being brainwashed by such high pressure promotion advertising of new drugs, that it is almost impossible for them to prescribe correctly for each individual case. A new antibiotic called "Chloramphenicol" seems to cause "aplastic anemia", a blood disease from which half of the victims die. Doctors who claim such curative powers of these new drugs are warned to try less potent methods before playing Russian roulette with some innocent, unsuspecting patient.

All therapeutic accidents cannot be charged to the doctors or the drug houses. The patient himself will take too many pills, or take them at the wrong time, or even months after his disease has left him. Prescription directions must be followed exactly, or some medicines become lethal when taken in combination with other drugs. Sometimes the corner druggist is to blame for unfavorable reactions when mistakes are made in filling prescriptions. Many instances were cited where certain drugs produced unfortunate results. Manufacturers claim that high prices are due to cost of research, but a US Senate committee found out that the 22 largest companies spend four times as much on promotion as on research. We should commend Francis for choosing an article with such timely warning and advice.

When the President called for volunteer articles, Bea Wilson presented one on the "ALOE VERA", which was turned in by Flora Goff. This Aloe Vera is a house plant, member of the lily family found in dry, tropical parts of the world, particularly Africa, and will do wonders for burns, cuts and abrasions. Also called "Barbadoes" aloe, it is one of the plants from which "bitter aloes" are extracted.

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Aloe Vera will flower occasionally, but the succulent leaves are one of nature's perfect packaging miracles. Break a leaf from the fleshy stem and the plant quickly seals in the vital juices. Even the cut segment will heal over the end that is sliced, to remain green for several days, ore even weeks if kept in the refrigerator. The gummy juice first exuded from the cut leaf of Aloe contains the active principal, Aloin, which when dried, is used in medicine. The transplant pulp from a fresh cut leaf does the work of healing cuts, bruises and burns.

The best way to keep Aloe Vera on hand for emergency first aid is to grow a plant on the kitchen window sill. It does not need direct sunlight and thrives on partial shade. A tip of the lower leaves of your potted plants can be removed without damage to that leaf or to the rest of the plant. Plant treatment is similar to an African Violet; keep it warm, water it from below and do not let cold water strike the leaves. Plants are now available upon order from Hagerman, Idaho, or Danielson, Connecticut.

Mary Moore Miller volunteered a short article in the form of a prayer for rain. Please let it rain every day from midnight to 3 am, with gentle moisture and warmth on all but drought loving plants. Let it be sunny all day, except on those that don't need it, and let it rain plenty of liquid fertilizer.

Our Forethought Lady, Bea Wilson, first suggested, please lets have some more rain; thin out your perennials, cut your hollyhocks, and then take cuttings of geraniums, if you still have any left.

Having just returned from touring the British Isles, Douglas Farquhar reported that while he was away we had very hot and dry weather, a "cold" fact that no one wished to dispute. His own temperature recordings during that period showed a high of 98 degrees and a low of 44 degrees. It was also pointed out that 90% of our days this summer had readings of over 90 degrees.

The list of exhibits read by Grace Thomas was considerably shortened by the drought and many were unidentified as to ownership. However, there were to be seen some lavendar, purple and white Phlox, blue Hydrangea, some Patience, Zinnias, Gladiolas and several kinds of Roses. The Ligons, who seem to have an unlimited water supply for their garden, were the only ones who dared to bring vegetables, which were really beautiful beets, potatoes, tomatoes and corn.

The subject of Birds began with the Ligons' five baby mocking birds bathing and feeding on their terrace, whose places were later taken by the baby Jay Birds. The President noted that mocking birds have now stopped their singing, possibly due to drought and lack of water. Some suggested that this was a normal annual occurrence and that there were seasonal times for certain bird songs. Francis Thomas told of putting a bird bath down on the ground, instead of the normal regulation height above ground, where whole flocks of Robins, as well as other kinds, just loved it by putting on quite a bathing beauty show for him. Clive Lawrence told of numbered Bluebird boxes being given away in western New York State, to be placed four feet high on the Bluebird trails. Entrances were being made by orange juice tins fastened on the outside, presumably to help the birds in flight to zoom in to the slightly smaller hole in the box itself.

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Rose Hutton began the question period without having any.

Wendy Lawrence gave some advice to poison ivy sufferers: to hold the parts afflicted under very hot water will stop itching from 4 to 6 hours. The President suggested a whole hot shower.

Helen Bentley said to use rubber or cotton gloves when using poison dust or spray in your garden.

Buzz Hussman seems to have lost a white pine which is very brown; is it gone? Jack Bentley has sprayed mildewed trees with DDT and they have come back to life. Bea Wilson uses "Kelthene" spray for evergreens, but those over 90% brown will pass out.

Catherine Adams asked what is eating her tomatoes, if its not turtles? They may be birds, so she should make green tomato pickles before losing them altogether.

John Weske had heard that somewhere blacksnakes were mating with copperheads. He wondered if that was illegal integration.

Mrs Kendall wanted to know how to prune her big Japanese Holly bush? The President says it can be cut back as much as 50% in any shape desired, either now or in April when it is making new growth.

Douglas Farquhar mentioned that Si Jones' old gardening rule was to scatter plant all leftover garden seed between August 4th & 8th - should he do that now? Yes, nothing would be lost but labor.

Betty Ligon has had chicken wire moved around certain parts of her garden to keep out ground hogs and purple grackles. She suggests that plenty of water will naturally make fine vegetables.

Your Secretary wanted to know how to save his brown boxwood. There again the answer is plenty of water, soaking the bushes half the time if that much water is available.

Lucy Manning asked if you could cut the boxwood back to the green and then soak it with water, would it start up again? If not too far gone, it would seem to help in certain situations. Others are also having trouble with brown boxwoods this year, and Bea Wilson wants to know where she can get some new large boxwood as replacement.

Jack Bentley wanted to know if anyone had Japanese beetles this year? Very, very few reported, some only counting as many as 10.

Edward Iddings reports no poison ivy, after being soaked in soap.

President Hutton brought a large brown envelope out of his desk, in which he had Oak leaves with as many as 20 small galls. What is it that starts this disease? There seem to be 670 varieties that bother Oak trees, with many more unkown, which the tree fights like a tumor. The growing lava mature before the leaf falls, so that one cannot burn it.

Dr Garretson was asked what effect these new drugs might have on treatment of cancer? He said some believed that virus was a main cause, and some hot research was going on now in plants, smaller animals, even in monkeys, so why not experiment on man?

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm, to meet in September at "The Cedars" with Douglas and Helen Farquhar.

Alan F. Thomas Secretary

A. D. FARQUHAR

AUGUST 1966

WEATHER Report for HORTICULTURAL

Highest Temp. 87 degrees on several days Average High 83 degrees

Lowest Temp. 57 degrees Average Low 64 degrees

Mean Temp. 73 degrees

Total rainfall for the month .9 inch. which fell on three days trace on 3 other days

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