286 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANKAKEE 



President Mortimer called Mr. Stroud to the chair and read his 

 essay, entitled 



HORTICULTURAL SCRAPS. 



BY HENRY MORTIMER, MANTENO. 



To the Ladies and Gentlemen oj the 



Kankakee Valley Horticultural Society: 



The work of the farmer and fruit grower during the busy sea- 

 son of summer, is not calculated to give him that kind of inspiration 

 that will enable him to produce a presentable essay; when he has more 

 physical work than he can properly dispose of, the mind does not 

 freely respond to additional labor. At the eleventh hour I have 

 hastily thrown together some ideas as they occurred to me, that may 

 prove valuable, or otherwise, as they bring out discussion in which 

 the members here, who have practical knowledge, take part. These 

 discussions of members, who pursue the same object — the success- 

 ful growing of fruits — owing to the different methods adopted and 

 the various soils and exposures on which fruits are grown, are always 

 interesting and valuable. My paper is entitled '' Horticultural 

 Scraps," by this I mean that I shall not confine myself to any one 

 subject, but take such views of the horticultural field as may per- 

 chance appear in sight. 



In my remarks on fruit I shall give the apple the first place, as 

 it undoubtedly deserves it. Have we been successful during the past 

 few years in growing it? This is an important question and 1 am 

 sorry to say that I am compelled to answer it in the negative. Our 

 merchants in Kankakee and throughout our county can tell us that 

 they cannot get home grown apples to supply their customers, but 

 must order from Michigan, New York or other places. Can not this 

 state of affairs be remedied? Can we not at least grow enough for 

 our own use? A few years ago considerable quantities of apples 

 were grown in our county, including many kinds of excellent quality. 

 We do not produce them now, and why? Those who have noticed 

 the weather closely tell us that the seasons have changed, that the 

 summers are drier than they used to be, that for want of moisture 

 the trees dry up and suffer in summer, making a poor sickly growth, 

 and one hard winter completes the work of destruction. Can this 

 condition of affairs be remedied? To some extent I think it can, 

 first, by planting hardy varieties that have passed through our heated 

 summers and arctic winters without injury; such varieties as the 

 Duchesse, Wealthy and Whitney's No. 20, are ironclad and will suc- 

 ceed if they receive the proper care. 



Those who have tested it state most positively that double work- 

 ing, b}' top-grafting, the half-hardy varieties on some iron-clad stock. 



