SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS. 365 



legislation. Some one has remarked that he considered our western 

 prairies entirely too valuable to be devoted to timber culture. Quite 

 possible much or most of it may be, but, I believe, there is also very 

 much that would eventually pay very much better thus than any 

 other way, for instance: here is a very large tract of land, two or 

 three miles west of this city — we designate it as the l^arrens — I be- 

 lieve that the white pine planted upon this tract would make the 

 land worth a hundred dollars an acre within thirty years; the greater 

 portion of it to-day would not bring ten dollars an acre. I believe 

 the steeper slopes of all our hillsides might be jdanted to timber to 

 great advantage. I believe that all worn out lands, wherever they 

 are, will recuperate under timber cultivation as under no other natu- 

 ral process. I believe it is nature's great restorative for exhausted 

 soils when fertilizers are not available. Of the great beauty of our 

 forest trees upon our open prairies; of their ])eing the natural home 

 of all our insect-destroying birds; of their grateful shade and ])r()- 

 tection to stock from the heat of summer and the storms of winter; 

 of their happy influence upon the meteorological conditions of our 

 climate, you all know the incalculable value. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Minier gave the association a half hour talk on forestry, 

 showing up the rapid destruction of the forests of North America 

 and explaining the necessity of their being replanted. He also gave 

 a very interesting account of the meeting of the Forestry Congress 

 at Denver last summer, and his visit to the Rocky Mountains. Said 

 the scenery was the grandest he ever saw, and advised everyone to 

 visit that region, as they would be more than repaid for their time 

 and expenditures. 



Prof. Budd, being called on by the President for a talk, gave 

 some interesting points about his trip to Denver, and an account of 

 the devastation of the forests on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, 

 after which he talked at some length on the hybridizing of the 

 apple, grape, etc. He said there are at least one hundred and fifty 

 varieties of Russian apple which are perfectly hardy. As I pre- 

 dicted, the Early Transparent has become a commercial apple. I 

 said that it was the earliest apple that had been introduced, and that 

 it was good for any locality where it would not blight. The Thaler 

 is better for the Northwest then the Transparent, for it will not 

 blight. Number Sixty, as sent out by the Government, is a very 

 good apple, very early; at least two weeks earlier then the Early 

 Harvest, and does not blight; a large yellow apple of good quality. 



