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ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



John Blackstone had not succeeded with Yellow Bellflowers; the 

 Northern Spy bore well for him after the trees became of age. 



Wm. Cooper would trim but very little and would have the limbs 

 low down ; had trimmed one orchard high enough so he could work 

 under the trees with a team ; the trees commenced traveling to the 

 northeast and were dying out ; would give more room to trees and raise 

 nothing else on the ground after the trees came into bearing. 



A. L. Miner had set three orchards, the first one many years ago, 

 on good soil, in the Wabash country ; had trimmed high ; trees soon 

 died out ; had set two orchards in this State, the first one did not trim 

 so closely as in Indiana; the trees did better and bore well after seeding 

 down. The second and last orchard in this State he did not trim at all, 

 but seeded it down as soon as the trees commenced bearing; had healthy 

 trees and plenty of apples. The limbs were down low so the hogs could 

 help themselves to fruit. The Bellflower does well with him in sandy 

 soil — trees thirty-three feet apart. He manured his orchard as he did 

 his corn field and had no trouble in raising apples. 



A. Melon was opposed to trimming trees high. He knew a neighbor 

 who had an orchard of untrimmed trees that bore well ; afterward the 

 orchard passed to other hands, who trimmed and pruned, and the trees 

 ceased bearing, and are now dying out. He thinks that protection belts 

 of timber are a damage, especially Black walnut, and cited several 

 orchards without protection that are doing well. 



Wm. Cooper knew of several similar instances. 



Mr. Merrick's orchard was quite unprotected and bore very well ; 

 would set Yellow Bellflowers forty feet apart. Trees that were set next 

 to a Black walnut grove had all died. 



The members present, in general, opposed pruning. The prevailing 

 opinion among members was that we should prune less, manure more and 

 plant at greater distances apart, not less than thirty-three and from that 

 to fifty feet. We could not, of course, have so many trees, but we would 

 have healthier ones, with more and better fruit ; that timber shelter-belts 

 are of no advantage to an orchard, but that dry soil is; that fruit trees, 

 in this country, would not succeed on wet soil. 



Upon a suggestion from President Barnard a motion was made by 

 Mr. Melon that we petition the Legislature for aid to county horticultural 

 societies on a basis similar to that of county agricultural societies, which 

 was carried. 



The subject of "Orchards and the Storing and Keeping of Fruits" 

 will be discussed at the next meeting; also the subject " Flower Culture." 



The President appointed H. S. Bloom to prepare and read an essay 

 on Flowers and Flower Culture, at the next meeting. 



REPORT OF FRUIT COMMITTEE. 



The apples exhibited by Milo Barnard we find to be very fine, viz.: 

 Yellow Bellflower, Golden Swaar, White Pippin, Rawles' Janet, Milam, 

 Willow Twig, Nelson's Sweet, Lyman's Pumpkin Sweet and Ben Davis. 



