6 TEANS ACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



summer of 1867, followed by the deficient crops of 1868. Our soft southern winds 

 that prevail in the summer mouths, extending into autiuun, give iis a free growth, but 

 not always -well ripened wood to endure the severity of winter. 



These peculiarities of our climate, and the very distinct character of our sub-soU — 

 more fll^•orable for deeper planting — renders it imsafe for us, in the valley of the Great 

 "West, to rely for insti-uction on the horticultural savans of the Atlantic States. It 

 devolves on us to solve oiu- own horticultural difficulties. And it can not be disguised 

 that, to some extent, these difficulties increase with the increased extent of planting. 

 This is perhaps only what we should expect. That the prevalence of insects and 

 parasitic fungi wiH multiply and extend in proportion as we provide the means by 

 which they can exist, is but a natural result. This has l^een the case in other countries. 

 More diseases extend and more scientific skill is required to raise fruit, as the country 

 becomes older. This is so much the case in the Eastern States that an opinion has 

 gained considerable extent, that the apple crop is there on the decline. In the minds 

 of some this is an occasion of some alarm. I have placed in the hands of the secretary 

 an extract from a private letter from J. J. Thomas, on this subject, and I think the 

 Secretarj" has communications from other horticultiu-alists of the older States, on the 

 same subject. The letter from which I have made extracts is in the brief condensed 

 style for which the waitings of that veteran horticulturist are characterized. Mr. 

 Thomas takes a common sense \iew of the subject, free from hypothetical vagaries. 



Thus it seems to be a fact that, with the increase of orchards, we have an increase of 

 fungoid infections and insects that infest orchards. It is from this circumstance that 

 several vaiieties of apples, that were most profitable in our first orchards, are now so 

 frequently scabby and wortWess, that they are falling into disrepute. Hence it is, that 

 our frnit lists need occasional revision. Varieties, that a few years ago we held in the 

 highest regard, we are inclined to reject. 



As yet we can boast of no signal triumphs over the hordes of insects that infest our 

 orchards and gardens, and scarcely any control over the various fungoid infections. 



The subject of pmning is one ou which western horticulturists are quite vmsettled in 

 theory. "We liaAC not yet given this subject the close obsen'ation that its importance 

 deserves. 



I would also invite attention to the subject of cultivation of orchards and fruit 

 grounds generally. We often have excessive rains, our soils are easily washed. "We 

 are yearly applying to fruit culture more grounds i,\ith broken or undulating sixrface. 

 We are startled by the revelations of geology, of the wonderful denudation of conti- 

 nenatl regions in past durations of time ! Fortunate for us, that by some means (we 

 know not how), a goodly thickness of drift was spread over the old denuded surface, 

 constituting for us the best sub-soil of which any land can boast. But if several hun- 

 dred feet in thickness, of the original surface, was carried away by the action of the 

 elements in past time, well may we concern ourselves with the the ten-fold greater 

 rapidity with which the surface of oiu- cultivated grounds are now being washed away 

 and earned ofi" by our streams. "SATiile we are reveling in a soil enriched by decaying 

 grasses and the ashes of prairie fires of past centuries, it becomes us to consider how 

 we are to secure continued fertility after the vegetable humus and alkalies of our 

 present surface shall be washed away. To counteract or diminish the washing process, 

 to what extent we may profitably resort to underdi'aining, surface mulching, seeding 

 to grasses, or to other means, are important considerations. 



