STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 53 



SECOND DAY— MORxXING. 



The Society was called to order by the President at the appointed 

 time on Wednesday morning, and prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Irwin, 

 of the M. E. Church, of Normal. 



The regular order of business was a report from the Committee on 

 Vegetable Gardening. 



The Secretary stated that neither member of the committee had 

 handed in a report ; whereupon the President read the following : 



"Is it practical to cause barren apple-trees to bear fruit by girdling 

 the trunks or branches? " 



Signed, John Burnham. 



Mr. Burnham. — In Kane county the older apple-trees are dying 



out and the younger ones don't bear; and we want to know if we can 



safely bring these trees into bearing. I have a large orchard which was 



planted twenty years ago, yet we don't get fruit enough for our family's 



use. 



Mr. Nelson. — The people in our section are setting new orchards; 



the old trees are dying out, caused, we think, by the severe winter of 



1873 ^"^ '74- Many of the old trees look healthy enough, and some of 



them make a good growth, but upon examination we find them all rotten 



and hollow inside, very many having only a half inch to an inch of solid 



wood, like a shell, on the outside. Such trees should be cleaned out and 



new orchards planted. The young trees are all healthy and sound. We 



lost no trees from the cold last winter,, except those that were "dozy" 



and dead inside. 



We don't have any such trouble in Will county as Mr. Burnham 

 speaks of, but raise all we want ourselves and ship a good many besides. 



Mr. Spalding. — We can produce a great many sorts of apples in 

 Illinois of good quality, but many sorts of trees are not productive ; .we 

 hear many complaints of the Northern Spy; it grows well enough, but it 

 will not bear; so also with Bellflower, but they can be made to bear if 

 certain methods are followed. 



Mr. Nelson. — Northern Spy will bear when trees get old enough. It 

 is notorious that this variety will not bear for the generation that plants 

 the tree, and any one planting it in this country need not look for fruit 

 until the tree gets to be twenty years old. 



Mr. Spalding. — We must plant for ourselves as well as for the 

 generations that are to follow us, therefore must plant varieties that will 



