TRANSACTIONS lloKTirtr/n H.W. SoCIKTY OF NOHTIIEUN ILL. 385 



little pruning is preferable to excess. I am fresh from a farmers' council, 

 held last week in the beautiful city of Bloomington, and knowing that 

 some rambling thoughts were expected from me, I tried to open my eyes 

 as the train rapidly traversed those beautiful prairies. A goodly portion 

 of the distance from Joliet to Bloomington you will see a few good dwel- 

 lings, with comfortable and elegant surroundings and good orchards; but 

 the large majority of duellings are fjuite small, without either shade or 

 fruit tree to break the monotony or temper the biting blast. Why so 

 much neglect in planting fruit trees in much of that region, which is the 

 great corn garden of Illinois? The answer maybe found in the fact that 

 the few own the land, and the laboring many are only tenants — and many 

 of them poor, at that. I am glad primogeniture is not entailed on our 

 country — thanks to Thomas Jefferson and his compeers — hence, time will 

 probably disintegrate these excessively large estates. I concluded, as the 

 best present corrective, to come before this intelligent body of horticul- 

 turists and ask that missionaries be sent to all those beautiful dwellings, 

 be they in city or country, where the owners of those broad acres reside, 

 praying them to plant some ornamental trees, and at least one hundred 

 fruit trees, about the domicil of each tenant, that he may have more of 

 the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. A farm-house without 

 orchard or ornament is a dreary looking home. 



Dr. E. (i. Mv(;aii', of Richmond, 111., read the following essay : 

 GLEANINGS IN HORTICULTURE. 



I will premise by saying that I have no unfriendly feeling towards 

 nursery-men or their business, but have often regretted that I was not 

 trained to this noble, honorable and useful employment. 



Top-grafting is an unwelcome subject to some persons ; but we want 

 facts, and must abide by them. Let our nursery-men sell to us from 

 their selected lists, and, if farmers and orchardists can add to their crop 

 in quality or quantity, let them do so. 



My first subject is the renovation of old apple trees, by cultivation, 

 manuring and top-grafting those which are hardy, and whose fruit 

 is poor, like the (ireen Everlasting, Grindstone, etc.; for we have in our 

 orchards a few such hardy, almost worthless trees. Such trees can be 

 made verv valuable by cultivation — plowing shallow near the tree, and a 

 little deeper farther off — and placing over the roots about half a load of 

 manure : and, at the proper time, when the tree is invigorated, carefully 

 and gradually top-grafting it with choice fruit. To cut off all the large 

 limbs at once from such a tree would be almost certain death to it. We 

 tried that when the bark-louse was troublesome, by cutting off about 

 three-fourths of the top at once from five or six trees, with the intention 

 of applying remedies to the remainder, and the result was, nearly all of 

 those trees died. The fcjUowing judirious mode is copied from the 

 Horticulturist : 



" These trees I commenced grafting six years ago last spring. I began on the 

 top, and grafted one-third of the tree each year; it therefore required three years to 



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