STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 179 



PEACHES. 



Ill the absence of a peach crop but little opportunity has been 

 afforded us to mark progress. Peaches of budded varieties, with but 

 few exceptions, were very scattering. Gov. Garland, in some places, 

 were loaded. It appears to be a hardy, desirable early peach, ripen- 

 ing with us from the first to the tenth of July, Galbreath, a 

 native of Jefferson County, 111., not new, holds its own this season; 

 ten days later than Gov. Garland. Picquet's Late Free ripened a few 

 days before Old Mixon, fruited full, very large, delicious, desirable, 

 but the word late should be dropped from this name. Pond's Seed- 

 ling fruited full, a large, desirable and hardy late peach, ripe the 25th 

 of September. The Wager and Koser, new varieties. Chair's Choice 

 and Freeman's Late we have not fruited, they came through the 

 winter api)areiitly uninjured, in the nursery, and were full of bloom. 

 The Roser appears to be unusually hardy. New, from Northern 

 Indiana. 



PLUMS. 



Of the varieties more recently introduced coming under our ob- 

 servation the Wheyland is very desirable, ripening in September. 

 The Golden Beauty is a very distinct tree in its wood growth, , 

 peculiar bright yellow wood, fruit of good size and quality, and 

 ripens also in September. The Robinson, Mormon and Parson re- 

 sist the attacks of curculio to a wonderful extent, and are desirable 

 plums of the American type. We have also a native plum, which 

 we call the Centralia Plum. I have known it for thirteen years, it 

 is of good size, handsome appearance, a No. 1 plum to cook, fine 

 qualit}', and well worthy of planters' attention as a family or market 

 plum. It ripens two weeks later than Wild Goose. When budded 

 on the peach comes into bearing early, and seldom fails to bring fine 

 full crops. We find very many of our acquaintances succeed well 

 with the common J31ue Damson on peach roots planted in their 

 door yards, and are not troubled with black rot, which destroyed all 

 our early planting on the plum roots. 



APPLES. 



The crop with us, the summer of 1886, was a failure on account 

 of the long prevailing drouth, the accumulation of insect enemies, 

 and the frequent heavy wind-storms during the summer months, so 

 that of the thirty or more kinds of new varieties we are testing, we 

 have had no fair opportunity of comparing them with well-known 

 varieties. In our part of the State the much-lauded Russian varie- 

 ties have pretty generally disappointed the planters. Fntelligent 

 tiiinking horticulturists have concluded they are worth more to the 

 enterprising tree peddler to humbug the unwary than for any other 

 purpose, in our part of the state. Thinking, observing men say and 



