230 TRANSACTIONS OF THE HORTICULTUEAL 



The Willow Twig and Roman Stem have the greatest longevity of 

 any variety grown in my county (Knox). In the Warsaw district 

 the Ben Davis has been the most profitable apple, while in all of our 

 State north of this district the Willow Twig has been the most 

 profitable of any kind grown. 



The severe winters of 1872-3 injured all the varieties that at 

 that time were considered "iron-clad," and some varieties that we 

 considered valuable were entirely destroyed either in the nursery or 

 orchard. During the next three years I dug and burned more than 

 a hundred thousand trees, which so flattened my pocket-book that I 

 have not grown nursery stock since. My orchard, however, is the 

 best I have seen in Knox county for its age (twenty years). I have 

 lost only two per cent, of Willow Twig, three per cent, of Roman 

 Stem, one per cent, of Red Astrachan, five per cent, of Domine, two 

 per cent, of Famuse, thirty per cent, of Ben Davis, and three per 

 cent, of Wine Sap, while Early Harvest, Janet, Jonathan, Winter 

 Swaar and Pryor's Red are all gone. The Wine Sap might as well 

 be dead, as I get no fruit. 



I have said so much in relation to the past in order to speak 

 with more certainty of the future prospect. 



I think that it is generally admitted that the causes injuriously 

 affecting apple orchards, and pears and cherries as well, have been 

 more severe during the last decade than during any previous decade 

 of the last fifty years. Now I propose to inquire about the peculi- 

 arity of this last decade. 



Scientific men have observed, during several of the last cen- 

 turies, that when our earth with a number of the other members of 

 the solar system, is in perihelion, there has been great disturbance 

 in the earth's atmosphere, and, therefore, greater variation and 

 greater extremes of temperature. As all organic forms exist in re- 

 lation to climatic conditions, the more favorable the conditions the 

 greater longevity the forms will attain. During the last decade a 

 greater number of the members of the solar system have been in 

 perihelion than for more than a hundred years past, and than will be 

 again for nearly two hundred years to come. In June, 1883, Jupi- 

 ter was four millions of miles nearer the sun than he will be again 

 for many years. At this date he completed his cycle and passed the 

 point of maximum disturbance of his orbit. At such times great 

 solar explosions take place, and in a second of time send hydrogen 

 two hundred thousands of miles into space; and spots break out all 

 over the sun's disk. Such solar disturbances disturb every other 

 member of his system. The severe winters and severe drouths of 

 summer, and the sudden and varied climatic changes and extremes 

 of temperature, have doubtless been the greatest if not the sole cause 

 of the destruction of our orchards. 



It has been observed that solar and planetary causes have so 

 affected our earth as to bring calamity to its animal forms. Epi- 



