KANKAKEE YALLEY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 297 



Mr. Cunningham made some inquiry about the grape rot, and 

 described it as it manifested itself on his vines. 



The President said Mr. Riehl and others stated that whenever the 

 mercury falls below sixty degrees the rot is at once arrested. The 

 cause of the rot is not so clearly known. 



The Secretary said he had observed that the rot was very much 

 worse in hot, moist weather, and where the vines were thick on the 

 trellis. He thought a free circulation of air and sunshine was essen- 

 tial to the health of the grape. 



Mr. Mortimer had noticed the same thing, and thought that 

 clean cultivation and free circulation of air was — not a remedy — 

 but a sort of a preventive. In answer to a query as to the keeping 

 qualities of grapes, Mr. Mortimer said that no thin-skinned grape 

 would keep very long; it took a thick-skinned grape to keep. Now 

 there is another thing about which I wish to say a few words, and 

 which 1 think of very great importance as mentioned by our Presi- 

 dent. 1 allude to the hybridization of our fruits, and especially the 

 apple. Mr. Peter M. Gideon, of the Missouri Experimental Fruit 

 Farm, and the largest apple tree grower in America, has accomplished 

 wonderful results in that line in the last sixteen years, by natural 

 hybridization, i. e.: by planting different varieties in close proximity, 

 so that the natural flow of pollen will do its desired work. Mr. 

 Gideon originated the Wealthy apple, and he says that since that 

 apple first fruited he has raised more than twenty first-class apples — 

 as good as the world can produce — in succession from the first of 

 August to March, and in hardiness of tree surpassing all known 

 varieties of the common large apple. Now if Mr. Gideon has accom- 

 plished so much in so short a time, by his method, what might be 

 done by Prof. Budd's artificial cross fertilization. It seems almost 

 like a new creation, when we can create new varieties at will, as we 

 can take the pollen from the early flowering varieties, and preserve 

 it for weeks, if necessary, and then use it to fertilize late flowering 

 varieties. This being the case it opens up a wonderful field for the 

 improvement of our apples. 



The question was raised as to the hardiest varieties of the rasp- 

 berry. 



Mr. Mortimer said the Tyler, Ohio, Shaffer's Colossal and Cuth- 

 bert were hardy; the Gregg, with him, was only half-hardy. 



