182 TBANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



and handled its fruit. It is a remarkably vigorous, deep-rooted^ 

 strong grower, fully as productive as Crescent; ripens as early; 

 glossy, dark red; the most"feolid berry we have ever seen, not except- 

 ing our old and cherished friend, Wilson's Albany. It is a pistilate; 

 fertilizes well with Miner's Prolific. Those who have seen it the 

 past two seasons, including ourselves, think it is the greatest acquisi- 

 tion to strawberry growing in Egypt we have ever struck, and will 

 redeem us from the disastrous effects of the soft Crescent. How- 

 ever this may be, we have the pleasurable sensation of anticipating 

 it is close at hand. 



NEW FRUITS. 



REPOET BY JAMES T. JOHNSON. 



The production of neiv varieties of fruits is not only one of our 

 most interesting pursuits, but in our own observation has proved to 

 be one of the most profitable. 



The demand for new varieties has (of late) largely increased, 

 being greatly accelerated by the peculiarities of our climate and the 

 even more peculiar influences of our locations and soils, to say noth- 

 ing of our varied systems of cultivation and management. 



The demand for new or rare varieties of ornamental trees and 

 plants has been accelerated in a wonderful degree by the mission 

 work of the many useful societies for the promotion of these ob- 

 jects, which have of late been established in very many sections of 

 our State; but we have not as yet learned to do much, if indeed any- 

 thing to ameliorate, change, alter, or even effect the conditions of na- 

 ture as to climatic or atmospheric disturbances, and possibly this is 

 not within our power; but the question of location is still a debat- 

 able one. 



But we have incidentally spoken of adaptation. What has that 

 to do with the question of new fruits? Why, this and nothing 

 more. We know that our neighbor, Beadle, raises annually fine 

 crops of the Minkler apple. Neighbor Gray, of the same region, 

 can beat the world raising Pound Royals. Our own orchard has 

 produced the finest and largest Bailey Sweets that we have ever 

 seen. Thus we could continue to enumerate more than a hundred 

 orchards within the bounds of the Warsaw Horticultural Society, 

 each of which proved the question of adaptation (as to certain vari- 

 eties), and in which the most perfect specimens of a given variety 

 are always found. 



Our hope, then, in some measure, lies in this better knowledge 

 of that which is now, or shall be, better suited to our climate, loca- 

 tion, and the conditions in which they are to be grown, and by the 

 production of new sorts to supply this demand. 



As yet we find but little progress being made within our own 

 State as to properly hybridizing in order to the production of new 



