KEPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 289 



LAWTON POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



EEPORTED BY C. D. LAWTON, SECKETART. 

 OFFICERS. 



President — N. H. Bitely. 



Secretary — Charles D. Lawton. 



We had at Lawton a profitable fruit year. Peaches were a light crop, but 

 they sold at unprecedented prices, so that nearly as much money was received 

 as if we had a full crop. The main portion of my crop sold at 60 cents, 75 

 cents, $1.00, $1.25 per basket. There were so few peaches on the trees that 

 they grew very large and thus sold at fancy prices. Some varieties gave a full 

 yield and some orchards yielded a very full crop compared to others that bore 

 lightly. Location seemed to have had a good deal of influence as well as 

 variety. The kinds that yielded best were the Beatrice, Alexander, Early 

 Rivers, Hales, Snow's Orange, Barnard and Hill's Chili. Crawfords, Old Mixon 

 and Stumps generally bore lightly, though what there were of them were 

 unusually fine. Mountain Rose and Ward's Late did fairly. The early kinds 

 rotted badly and much loss was experienced on that account. The Hill's Chili 

 trees were loaded, but they are a poor peach and ordinarily of not much 

 account; this year, however, they sold very well. They are a valuable peach for 

 drying, as they generally bear well and the flesh cleaves readily from the pit. We 

 never had our trees go through the winter in better condition and so great a 

 promise of an abundant harvest as we had up to the time of blossoming, when 

 the severe spring frost occurred, killing the greater portion of the fruit buds. 

 The high lands seemed to have suffered quite as badly as did the lower eleva- 

 tions. Some orchards that were favored by the protection of a belt of timber 

 on the west and southwest, or which were situated on an eastern slope, or had 

 some high lands to the west, bore finely; while others that are upon high 

 ground, open in all directions, bore very lightly. Trees situated in slight 

 ravines or hollows in our orchard are the ones that yielded the most bountifully. 

 I have three ravines in my orchard, places where sometimes the trees have 

 killed out in severe winters; but this year it was from the trees in these situa- 

 tions that I got the most of my fruit, and the same was true in other orchards. 



Our people have been especially vigilant the past season in exterminating 

 trees affected with the "yellows." I think that, in the vicinity of Lawton, 

 diseased trees were all taken out. The proportion destroyed was somewhat 

 greater than in former seasons, but the excess may be due to the previous year's 

 negligence. Our most careful and observing fruit growers still have faith that 

 they can continue to raise peaches successfully by promptly eradicating the 

 diseased trees. Of grapes we had an enormous crop, especially of Concords. 

 Probably we shipped from our station two thousand tons. They were unpre- 

 cedentedly late in ripening, and so had to be rushed off at a time when the 

 markets were crowded, consequently low prices were generally realized. Those 

 who shipped early were the most fortunate. Mr. L. L. Halstead was among 

 these lucky few. He sent to Chicago, mainly before the market was glutted, 



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