TRANSACTIONS OF CHAMPAIGN CO. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 277 



machine, while in exposed situations the shrunken grain, if saved at all, 

 was often gathered up by the slow and tedious process of hooking it up 

 with scythes. 



Mr. Galusha, in his ad interim report for 1870, qualifies his views of 

 protection to orchards by the following statement : 



" The oft-repeated views of members of this Society, that suitable protection to 

 orchirHs by belt-; and groves of timber is advantageous, seems to be re-affinned from 

 year to year. I have, however, seen a few instances in which an excess of protection 

 seems to have been given, diminishing the productiveness of the orchards. These 

 orchards were closed in on all sides but the south liy belts of trees, so dense and so close 

 to the outer row as to prevent circulation of air through them." 



He adds that a row of walnut trees, then forty feet high, planted 

 with the orchard twenty years ago, on the east side, and twenty-two feet 

 from the outside row of an orchard in Kendall county, seems to, in some 

 way, gradually destroy the adjacent trees of the orchard. This is 

 suggested to arise, in part, from the species of forest trees planted ; but it 

 seems to be a general rule that fruit trees planted in too close proximity 

 to forest trees of greater vigor and size are robbed of their proper food, 

 both from soil and air, as has been noticed by Dr. Hull, who left some 

 large forest trees standing in the grounds that he planted to orchards, 

 and is corroborated by my own experience. I may add that the black 

 walnut, in my experience, does not seem to be more poisonous than other 

 varieties. 



Mr. Galusha continues, that "it is often remarked that in orchards 

 which are expo.sed upon the west sides, the same varieties in the middle 

 of the orchards produce more fruit than in the west row ; also, that the 

 northeastern halves of trees in the west row usually produce more fruit 

 than the southwestern halves, owing to the greater prevalence of south- 

 westerly winds " 



Observations in Missouri, by J- C. Plumb, lead him to recommend 

 "protection from the southwest wind for the preservation of the fruit from 

 excessive winds." He implies that he would have protection for no other 

 reason; and I have seen somewhere a statement, by a Wisconsin horti- 

 culturist, that some of the best results in fruit growing in that State were 

 from apple trees fully exposed to the northwest and its winds. 



The President of the Nebraska Horticultural Society, at its late meet- 

 ing, recommended shelter-belts on all sides of an orchard, and at least 

 one member echoed the opinion. It would probably be found that all, or 

 nearly all, the States west of the Upper Mississippi would concur, made 

 up as they are in large part of windy plains. The weight of this testi- 

 mony is in favor of protection for orchards, and may be summed up as 

 follows : 



The advantages of shelter belts are : 



1. That they mitigate the extremes of heat and cold, both of which 

 are brought by western winds. 



2. That they check the rapid evaporation of moisture, and probably 

 increase the local rain-fall. 



