10 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLLIXOIS 



the most prolific bearing of our trees exhausted thern just that 

 much sooner. 



Mr. Webster — I have been told by a New Yorker that we acted 

 on the principle of having a good thing and not wanting people to 

 know it. He said that New York could not compete with us at 

 all, that Southern Illinois was wonderful; that they could not 

 begin to raise apples with us. Of course this year is a little better 

 than common. Buyers sometimes come to buy Ben Davis straight, 

 and some plant these altogether. There are many orchards in 

 Southern Illinois that have no varieties in them but Ben Davis , 

 and this proves that when the conditions are favorable you ean 

 produce perfect Ben Davis without another variety mixed with 

 them. 



Mr. H. Brown, of Hamilton — Will an orchard pay? I will say 

 it will not. It will not if you go into that business exclusively and 

 I challenge any man to show that he makes a living out of an 

 orchard exclusively. He either has a nursery, or a vineyard, or a 

 corn field, or something of that sort to help out the orchard. I 

 have been in the business for twenty years. Last year I got over 

 one thousand bushels, and this year I got twenty-five. 



Air. Cotta — Orchards must be made to pay. There are millions 

 of coming mouths which must have apples, and there is no doubt 

 but that good apples will give paying prices. There has been large 

 planting of summer apples, but where are the winter apples coming 

 from? They must be planted. I have been pegging away for 

 about twenty-five 3 r ears and I have suffered very much, but I am 

 not going to give up. Some one has got to be a missionary and 

 I might as well be one as any one, if I can make it pay a little. 



Mr. McKinney — The first thing to be considered is location, and 

 another thing is that there has been too much fooling around about 

 Russian varieties and|he like; I think that must be stopped. 



Mr. Pearson — I am inclined to agree with Mr. Brown in not ad- 

 vising a man to plant an orchard and depend on it for a living, but 

 I don't know of a line of farming that I would advise him to under- 

 take ; 3"Ou must learn to diversify. I have wheat in, but I have not 

 worked in wheat since September, and will not before July. What 

 must I do in the meantime? I had two rows of Rawl's Janet that I 

 didn't pick an apple from this year, and yet, they paid me more 



