33° 



ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Warsaw Horticultural Society. 



PROCEEDINGS FOR THE YEAR 1879. 



Reported by Jas. T. Johnson, Secretary. 



ORCHARDS— PAST AND FUTURE. 



READ BEFORE THE WARSAW HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, MARCH I9, 1879, BY JAS. 



T. JOHNSON. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen : 



As requested, I give you a few thoughts on the subject assigned me — Orchards, 

 past and future — and while I may speak of all the various fruits of the orchard and 

 garden, I shall speak chiefly of the Apple. The first division of our subject is of some 

 importance in furnishing a long line of landmarks to aid us in our endeavors to avoid 

 the breakers upon which others have been wrecked, but the orchard of the future is 

 what chiefly interests the public. 



The last quarter of a century (which is only a few years more than the age of our 

 Society) has witnessed a vast increase in the area of land given to orchard culture, and 

 also in the ardor and zeal with which men have sought a more perfect knowledge of the 

 business, until now we trust we can see a general awakening all along the line, and that 

 ere long we "shall reap, if we faint not," the grand results of intelligent labor. 



Then, in regard to the orchard of the past. We deem it only necessary for us to 

 say that history indicates its existence in all ages from the time of our father Adam, and 

 that its culture has steadily increased in importance from that until the present time. 

 And we make the broad assertion, that to-day it is one of the most pleasant, most 

 profitable and most gratifying of all the pursuits of our rural population, well knowing 

 at the same time that we make this assertion in the face of the fact, now patent to all, 

 that we have legions of enemies to contend with — that insects infest all fruits grown 

 either in the orchard or garden. Besides, we have climatic and atmospheric difiiculties 

 which beset us upon every hand. Yet when we consider the importance of the fruit 

 interest of a world we are made to exclaim with the lamented Greeley, " we t?mst fight 

 our paltry adversaries more efficiently," we must have a more perfect knowledge of our 

 business, we fnust have the orchard of the future. 



The long experience and persistent study by members of our Society has brought 

 out many important facts, and the same persistent study and effort will demonstrate 

 other facts which must enable us to avoid much of our present annual loss. 



The history of orcharding in our State began with the French settlers at Kaskaskia 

 nearly two centuries ago, the first orchards being raised from seed planted at that place 

 by Father Marquette and his followers, about 1683. But for the first century and a half 

 succeeding this the orchards of Illinois (if orchards they could be called) only con- 

 sisted of a very limited number of sadly neglected seedling trees, mostly of apples. 



