STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 85 



by the animals on the fruit farm. At Cobden there are a great many 

 growers, and the average acreage to each farm is not very great. 

 Consequently the same land is cropped over and over again; and as 

 we are dependent almost exclusively on commercial fertilizers, our 

 lands become very much worn. 



The past was an " off year " with peaches at Alton, as it was 

 with tlie entire State; l)ut the peach men were proving their faith by 

 their works, and were putting the orchards in contlition to bear a 

 crop next year. 



Mr. E. A. Riehl has a beautiful young orchard, his treatment of 

 which is somewhat peculiar. Every one that has owned a peach 

 tree knows how frail and brittle the wood becomes, and how easy the 

 branches split down at the shoulder. To form a firm, strong union 

 where the limb joins the trunk, too strong to split, Mr. Riehl draws 

 the limb down and ties it to a stake; and thus warned of the future 

 weight of fruit and sleet, nature fortifies itself against accident by 

 building on successive layers of wood until the junction is too strong 

 to be broken. 



Mr. K. grows, so his neighbors say, a fine quality of peaches 

 which he insists can only be done by thorough and systematic cur- 

 culio-killing. His trees are trained high enough to admit of the free 

 use of a curculio-catcher. The orchard was ]ilanted to sweet pota- 

 toes and was thoroughly clean. A large vineyard, on an eastern ex- 

 posure, was in a thrifty condition, and was trained to wires on high 

 stakes. 



The Pocklington he was discarding on account of the uneven- 

 ness with which the l)unches ripened, and would supplant it with 

 the Niagara, a variety he considered very promising, and of which he 

 should plant largely on account of its vigorous growth and firm large 

 bunch of good quality. Mr. Riehl has extensive plantings of several 

 varieties of raspberries, of which he seems to prefer the Taylor. 



Not the least profitable part of this large farm seemed to be the 

 apple orchard, planted on deep bottom soil, the product of which was 

 shipped larg«dy by river, the landing on the farm affording ample 

 facilities. The work of insect destruction is here greatly aided 1)V a 

 tlock of sheep in the consumption of large quantities of fallen fruit. 



On !Mr. F. Hayden's place the general plan seemed to be to plant 

 as closely as possible without crowding, and |u-event waste space, [f 

 so, the plan is admirably carried out ahd is an instance of " the little 

 farm well tilled." The orchards, with the exception of the peach, 

 had borne fair crops, as also had the vineyard, and made a fair net 

 return. 



Adjoining is the place of Dr. Roberts, of which his wife has sole 

 management, and to whom I am indebted for an explanation of her 

 methods and plans. A gooseberry plantation is a promising feature 

 as it is a branch of lujrticulture that as yet seems not over done. An 

 interesting experiment was a thrifty Duchess pear orchard, kept in 



