STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 171 



scarcity of rain, our strawberry beds wholly died out. In seasons of exces- 

 sive drought, such as was the summer of '74, fruit trees can not store up 

 the vitality required for the next crop, and no doubt the unfruitfulness of 

 our orchards the present year is mainly the result of the excessive 

 drought of previous years. We all understand that when trees exhaust 

 themselves by producing an excessive crop, they are generally unprepared 

 for a succeeding crop ; and excessive droughts seem to leave the trees in 

 much the same condition. Our young specimen orchards were seriously 

 damaged by the winter of '73; then followed the droughts of '73 and 

 '74, and the consequent barrenness of our orchards the present season, 

 accompanied by a slight fall in the barometer of our pomological enthu- 

 siasm. 



With regard to apples, it is a notable fact, that within the last decade of 

 years, among all the new varieties that have elicited the attention of Western 

 horticulturists, scarcely a single variety claims attention on the merits of 

 the quality of the fi'uit ; we seem to be aiming to greater hardiness, pro- 

 ductiveness, or keeping qualities, and can hardly claim to have advanced a 

 single step in improved quality. We are doubtless too delinquent in pro- 

 ducing seedlings from our improved varieties. 



Owing to our late, warm autumns, much loss and waste of fruit 

 occurs from the habit many varieties have of prematurely dropping from 

 the trees. This difficulty seems to prevail most with those which have 

 originated North, such as R. I. Greening, Roxbury Russet, Jonathan, 

 Wagonner, etc., and for this reason I have inclined to look to Southern 

 kinds for improvement in keeping qualities. Several years ago I procured 

 a collection of Southern varieties ; among them proved to be several 

 synonyms, many proved not hardy, while some small and worthless. 

 Owing to unfavorable seasons, perhaps, none of them have yet had a fair 

 trial. The only varieties that I could safely name, as giving much en- 

 couragement, are the Red Warrior and the Red Ox ; at least these are 

 worthy of further trial. 



Pears. — Well, on the subject of pears we have little to say. The' 

 trying severity of the last few seasons with us has tended to considerable 

 discouragement in pear culture ; those orchards located in the loess soil 

 of the Mississippi bluffs seem to afford the most encouragement, and our 

 best success is with standard trees — dwarfs have lost all repute. The 

 most hardy varieties seem to be the Buerre de Anjou, and Flemish Beauty. 



Cherries. — Our recently severe winters have left scarcely a healthy tree 

 of the finer varieties. Early Richmond {E. May, if you choose) seems 

 the only variety of much value to us, that to my knowledge is well tested ; 

 though considerable has been said of a {^sn other sorts. The Early Rich- 

 mond produced an excessive crop last year, but no fruit this year. 



Grapes. — If required to decide what one fruit of the highest value 

 stands among the productions of the last half century, I would be com- 

 pelled to say the Concord Grape. The last decade of years has brought 

 forth many new, and in some respects valuable varieties of grapes, at 

 least such as we should esteem as valuable, if we had not the Con- 

 cord. We like the Delaware, but few of them find their way into 



