TRANSACTIONS OF HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ILL. 311 



mine down. De Soto does uniformly well at Galena. It is more like the 

 European type than like Prunus chicasa. I have never seen it anywhere 

 else. 



Mr. Garrison. — A German in my neighborhood had Miner trees 

 which would not bear, and he drove plenty of nails into them, after 

 which they did bear. Did the nails induce the fruitfulness? 



The President. — Driving nails into trees has been recommended, 

 as though the iron rust affected the sap and in this way produced fruitful- 

 ness; but I suppose the result was produced by checking the flow of the 

 sap which the nails produced — the same as removing a narrow ring of 

 bark. 



REPORT UPON ORCHARD CULTURE. 



BY SAMUEL EDWARDS, MENDOTA. 



The Secretary read the following : 



Mr. President and Members of the Horticultural Society of Northern 

 Illinois : 



The apple is appropriately termed the " King of Fruits" for the 

 temperate zone, and its successful culture one of the most important sub- 

 jects which can be brought before your Society. 



For one, the writer, after thirty-seven years' experience in orchard- 

 ing on our prairies, must frankly admit that the more he does in this 

 direction the less he knows, and about all the advancement made is in 

 learning to avoid the mistakes of former years. 



Where there is a choice of location, give the preference to knolls ; 

 if level land, a ridge should be made by repeated back furrowing on 

 which to plant each row of trees. 



Most experienced orchardists prefer setting trees closer than is 

 recommended in our books, for the protection afforded, thinning them 

 out when they need it. Trees are comparatively short-lived here, and in 

 my opinion it would be a serious mistake for us to set apple-trees forty 

 feet apart, as is advised by some Eastern writers. 



The proper selection of varieties — those known from experience to 

 be well adapted to the vicinity or similar soil and climate, is one of the 

 most important matters to be considered by planters. For home use, we 

 make a selection of many varieties for which some member of the family 

 may give preference which it would not be advisable to plant in an 

 orchard for market. 



Commercial orchards should have but few varieties, all of which are 

 proved to be good and regular bearers, of good selling quality, and for 

 most localities in Northern Illinois a large majorty of them should be of 

 late keepers. 



Several varieties have been originated by cross fertilization in Min- 

 nesota and Wisconsin, which, with the Salome and Wythe, of our own 



