SOCIETY OP CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 277 



and hunting for the first ripe strawberry as they do in eating 

 it. 



The more acid fruits, such as gooseberries and currants, are 

 healthy and grateful to the palate, and should be used in every 

 family. Currants planted in the open ground seldom bear well, 

 but if planted along the garden fence, where they are shaded 

 part of the time, they will do much better. 



The strawberry is the most delicious of the small fruits, and 

 fortunately easily grown. The farmer may plant and cultivate 

 like corn, and late in the fall mulch heavily with rotten straw 

 and secure good crops. Sharpless, Downing, Crescent, Bubach 

 .and Warfield I consider the best varieties. Mt. Vernon is a late 

 berry and will extend the season ten days. 



Raspberries follow strawberries very closely and fill the gap 

 between them and blackberries. The planters should select 

 those varieties that are found to succeed best in his neighbor- 

 hood. 



I consider Stones' Hardy blackberry much better in quality 

 than Snyder, and after the second year is more productive. It 

 should be more largely planted. 



A few cherry trees are indispensible to every fruit garden. I 

 would plant Dyhouse and Early Richmond. A whole colony of 

 robins nested in my trees this spring, and I thought I should 

 be compelled to destroy their nests to save the cherries, but 

 found they were catching cut worms, and concluded they would 

 pay for the cherries they ate by destroying insects. 



Grapes, of course, will not be neglected. Plant Moore's Early, 

 Concord and Niagara. 



Plum trees should be found in every garden. They grow very 

 rapidly, and if planted in groups bear heavily. The curculio is 

 not an unmitigated evil. It often thins my plums so that the 

 crop is more valuable than it would be otherwise. Damson and 

 Lombard will do well if grafted on the Minor or Wild Goose 

 stock. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Augustine — Would you have the group all of one variety, 

 •or should different kinds be used? 



Mr. Gray — The Wild Goose do well if planted alone, but the 

 Minor are deficient in pollen, and must be planted with some- 

 thing else. 



Mr. Dunlap — I have a group of Wild Goose, Minor and Chick- 

 asaw that bear well, but single trees do not. We have a fine 

 •collection of fruit in the other room, and I move that a com- 

 mittee be appointed to examine and report on it. Motion 



