94 TBANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



hundred tons were shipped from this point last season, the bulk of 

 which went to Minneapolis, at the very low rate of two and a-half 

 cents per ten-pound basket, freight, and sold for satisfactory prices. 

 Large crops and good prices have encouraged growers to increase 

 their vineyards, and at least one hundred acres will be planted in the 

 coming season. 



The peach crop in the spring promised to be exceptionally large, 

 but owing to the very wet weather after the earlier varieties were 

 picked, the medium and later kinds were almost an entire failure, 

 fully three-quarters rotted on the trees. This will apply to the 

 whole of Southern Illinois as well as Villa Ridge. 



Mr. Geo. W. Endicott claims the Elberta and Ede to be the best 

 of the newer varieties of peaches. The Elberta did not crack with 

 wet weather and is very productive, very hardy, and yellow in color, 

 ripens with or just before Old Mixon. The only fault so far devel- 

 oped is that it is a slow, ragged grower. Of the Ede he says that it 

 is the very best in quality, is hardy, but requires thinning to make it 

 large in size. He has tried a large number of plums, among them 

 has found the Shoulding one of the best, it partakes more of the 

 nature of the European plum than any of the natives. The Botan 

 is the only one of the Japanese varieties that have proved of any 

 value, it is hardy, good grower and early bearer of fine quality and 

 large size. 



He has tried spraying and is well pleased with it. When he 

 began spraying, his orchard was full of canker worms, tent cater- 

 pillers and any quantity of codling moth. In twelve hours after 

 the first spraying the ground was covered with worms, cater- 

 pillars and moths : could find none on the trees. He sprayed 

 a second time eight days after and has gathered the most per- 

 fect fruit this year his orchard has ever produced. He also tried 

 spraying his peach trees for the curculio, used two ounces of Paris 

 Green to a fifty gallon barrel of water, but this burnt the foliage so 

 badly that a large number of leaves dropped. He afterwards reduced 

 the poison to one and one-half ounces to fifty gallons of water but 

 this was not altogether satisfactory and was afraid to follow it up. 

 During the earlier part of the season, and for a time after spraying, 

 he found no circulio's nor any signs of them, but later they became 

 so numerous that he found it neccessary to run his circulio catcher 

 as usual. He thinks they came in from his neighbors that did not 

 spray. 



Of the newer varieties of grapes, he is so well pleased with 

 Brighton and Empire State that he is propagating and planting 

 them as fast as he can get the wood. The Villa Ridge Shipping 

 Association is proving itself to be of great benefit to its members. 

 Next season it will ship the berry crop exclusively in refrigerator 

 cars. The Illinois Central Railroad will build 100 cars of a pattern 



