356 TRANSACTIONS OF THE HORTICULTURAL 



will stand all sorts of abuse and starvation. The United States, 

 England, Wales, Germany and Russia have been ransacked over 

 and over again to find the desideratum that will stand blue grass 

 sod, horn-p running, cattle-browsing, and the gnawings of calves, 

 sheep, rabbits and mice, and bear a heavy crop every year. Yes; 

 and the people to tickle you, have just the thing you want : The 

 hardy Russian at fifty cents each — all Ben Davis ! What is all 

 this hue and cry about? and what is the cause? I say — Starva- 

 tion! 



You have taken all you could from the orchard for the past 

 thirty years and made no returns whatsoever. You have not even 

 applied the scriptural injunction, to "dig about and dung it." 



You ask what is the cause of the trees dying. I say, Starva- 

 tion. The past two or three years or more you have gathered 

 heavy crops, exhausted the vitality of the trees, and nothing to 

 recuperate them but blue grass sod and drouth. How has it 

 been the past season? The early apples were fair and nice be- 

 cause we nad plenty moisture ; the latter part of the season was 

 dry, and the blue grass absorbed what little moisture there was ; 

 hence the crop stopped growing and you see the result — starva- 

 tion! 



Brethren, have any of you succeeded in raising a good crop 

 of corn or other cereal for twenty-five years in succession on blue 

 grass sod, without making any returns after planting? 



You say they winter-killed. I say, they are starved to death, 

 and you did not observe it till spring. Of course the vitality 

 was somewhat, I will say, much weakened — had not strength 

 enough to send the blood (the sap) to the extremities; so they 

 died down, as we say. The same cause in gangrene — the blood 

 did not flow to the extremities. Why, brethren, I have been just 

 as mean as the rest of you, and had to suffer the consequences. 

 When I go through the orchard the trees cry, "Blue grass! blue 

 grass !" Where I manured heavily last year the apples were fair 

 this fall. Now I will make an assertion — that there is not an 

 orchard in this county, of one hundred trees, that has been kept 

 in continuous cultivation for the first seven years of its life. 



IRON-CLADS OR HARDY VARIETIES. 



The Duchess seems to be standard for comparison in the apple, 

 as the Concord in grapes, or the Seckel m pears. I will admit 

 that the Duchess, the Red Astrachan and the Alexander, (the 

 latter is worthless), are Russian; the only three varieties that 

 Dr. Warder speaks of as Russian. Then we have the Northern 

 Spy, the Fameuse, E. G. Russet and Whitney No. 20, which are 

 all hardy in stock, suitable to top work such varieties as you 

 choose — provided you do not starve them to death. 



I am aware, sir, that we have a fickle climate. It is the sudden 

 extremes from heat to cold. If it would remain cold from the 



