150 TEANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



this season. He says his success is owing to the care he gave his trees, 

 including mulching; but he also says that he has lost a great many 

 trees." 



This letter is dated October 30, 1887. It may be remembered 

 that the Mr. Tripp, to whom Mr. Lacy refers, was spoken of in my 

 paper last year as one who had better success than any one in his 

 vicinity, and that his success was regarded as being due to mulching 

 his trees. That it does not save all his trees is shown by the latter 

 part of Mr. Lacy's statement, but that it does save the greater part 

 of them and help to ensure a good crop of fruit is beyond question. 

 Of course, it will not do to depend on mulching alone, as though it 

 were a panacea for all the ills to which the apple tree is subject; for 

 this, as well as other cultivated plants, needs care, and the proper 

 treatment, that they may give the best results, otherwise there will 

 be a tendency to revert back to the original stock, or wild apple. 



Further on Mr. Lacy incidentally says: " I have given up set- 

 ting apple trees, although I have a few in a growing condition on a 

 piece of land devoted entirely to them and grass. Grapes are the 

 surest and easiest fruit I can raise, and I intend to enlarge my vine- 

 yard." 



I think Mr. Lacy is wrong in one point, and that is the entire 

 abandonment of apple culture. My suggestion would be to set a 

 few trees each year, if not more than half a dozen, selecting such 

 varieties as have been proven to be the hardiest. This need not 

 interfere with the enlarging of his vineyard; for with proper care I 

 do not see why he should not find both profitable, and at the same 

 time secure a crop of apples for home use, and supply some of his 

 less fortunate neighbors. Grapes can not wholly take the place of 

 apples, and if apples can be raised in Iowa and Wisconsin they can 

 be in Northern Illinois. 



Another man asked to experiment with mulching was Mr. G. W. 

 St. John, of Centralia, Marion County. He is a man of some expe- 

 rience in fruit-growing and gardening, and whose ground is in a 

 good state of cultivation and well fertilized. He writes me under 

 date of Nov. 8, 1887, as follows : 



" Early last spring T mulched nine apple trees, some large and 

 some small, of three different varieties, and in different parts of the 

 orchard. The mulching was wheat straw that had been used for 

 bedding cows, and considerable manure went with the straw. I put 

 on only fair quantity. I could not see that the trees were in any 

 way benefited." 



He speaks incidentally of other orchards, as follows : 



'' Meigs Meyers' orchard bore a partial crop of quite nice apples. 

 The leaves fell before those in other orchards. The orchard belong- 

 ing to Dea. Miles (the one we went through last year when we went 

 to Mr. Perine's) has done the best of any within my knowledge. 

 He sprayed with Paris Green." 



