STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 17 



There lias been au increased interest in and encouragement giveu to planting out 

 Osage Hedges. This is particularly the case in Macoupin, Green and Jersey counties, 

 and more or less in all the counties in the 10th District. It is now a settled fact that 

 the Osage Hedge is to be the fence of our Western prairies. I have never known but 

 one instance of failure when properly taken care of. 



The Central Railroad, I understand, contracted with parties to fence their road with 

 Osage Hedge. They set out their plants, a'nd owing perhaps to the extreme di-y 

 summer and neglect, the larger part of the plants failed to grow. The parties became 

 discouraged and did no more to them. The result, an entire failure. 



In my neighborhood nearly all the farms are planted out, wherever there is a fence 

 or a fence needed, with Osage. Oldest hedges, that have been turned «ut six or seven 

 years, are a complete success, and when kept in proper trim are beautiful; and whoever 

 lives to see one of our large western prairies completely fenced and properly trimmed, 

 will behold a landscape view not to be excelled in any other part of the world. 



A. A. HILLIARD. 



Mr. Huggins — I have prepared a few remarks touching the early 

 horticulture of our county, and something also concerning the present 

 year's operations, and portions of it I propose to read at this point 

 if you desire it. 



The President — I think it is proper. 



Mr. Huggins then read his paper on Macoupin county : 



The first apple trees planted in this county were seedlings ,set along the timber on 

 Bunker Hill Prairie by James Breden, at the head of a branch of Wood river, and 

 further down by David Wright, Elijah Lincoln and others, as early as 1830. In 1836 

 and 1837 small orchards of budded apples and seedlings were set by Luke Knowlton, 

 Rodney Town, Larkins and Stark, near the timber. Captain Moses True set the first 

 fruit trees in the place then called Lincoln (now the town of Bunker Hill) in the year 

 1835. In 1840 and 1841 orchards of 100 and 200 trees were planted far out on the 

 Bunker Hill prairie by N. H. Elannagin, Joseph Burton, Edward Burton, John A. 

 Pettingill, D. E. Pettingill, Rufus Keif and others, of improved varieties, which 

 orchards for many years (if we except the present) have given satisfactory returns. 



"I find there are on Bunker Hill Prairie at the present time eleven thousand (11,000) 

 apple trees in bearing; pears in bearing, 2,000; peach trees in orchard, 3,000; cherries 

 in bearing, 2,000, 1200 of them being in one orchard of J. V. Hopper; about 0,000 

 grape-vines in bearing, mostly Concord and Hartford Prolific. Some 25 varieties of 

 grape are in bearing and all have failed to a greater or less degree the present season, 

 except the hes, which has gone through oiu* wet season unscathed, either in fruit or 

 leaf. J. A. Pettingill' s vineyanl is the oldest, set out in 1863 and in 1868. His Con- 

 cords produced at the rate of six (6) tons to the acre. About 15 acres are set in black- 

 berries, mostly Lawton's, although Kittatinny and Wilson are planted out, and promise 

 well. Of Doolittle, Miami and Philadelphia Raspberry, about 10 acres will be in ful 

 bearing in 1870. Philadelphia bears enormous crops of a good (not best) berry. 

 3 



