VALLEY HORTICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 393 



OCTOBER MEETING. 

 APPLES AND ORCHARDS. 



Mr. Knox — In my orchard there is not more than five to ten 

 per cent, of merchantable fruit; they are very wormy. The trees 

 look passably well, those that are living. I have not pastured or cul- 

 tivated my orchard this season, that may account in a measure for 

 the wormy fruit. 



E. A. Sizer said it is generally understood that the orchards of 

 the country are in rather dilapidated condition, and consequently a 

 large yield of apples can not be expected. Some varieties, as the 

 Yellow Bellflower, the Snow and some of the Russets are quite full 

 of very fine apples; the Wine Sap has a fair crop. Those trees that 

 are in a fairly healthy condition have more or less fruit on them. 

 Stroud's orchard is quite full of fine apples, mostly summer and fall 

 varieties. Mr. Sizer in answer to a question if he had noticed any 

 difference in the productiveness of orchards on black prairie or sandy 

 soil, said he had not, but he had noticed that those orchards that 

 were rather bare of protection were in better condition than those 

 that were well protected. I think there are a number of varieties 

 that we can plant with safety. The Duchess is universally hardy, 

 the Tetofsky, the Wealthy, the Haas, the Mann and the Princess 

 Sweet are quite hardy, and also the Minkler. Many farmers seem 

 quite discouraged about planting again, others say they will try once 

 more. Mr. Sizer thought that good healthy, thrifty trees would 

 produce healthy fruit, and diseased trees would have diseased wormy 

 fruit. How about the Minkler? 



'"^B. G. Lee said the Minkler with him was quite hardy, and bore 

 this year a good crop of very fair but wormy fruit. Mr. Lee further 

 stated that he had read in the proceedings of some Farmer's Club of 

 Ohio, where they had been spraying their trees with a solution of 

 London purple, and all trees thus treated bore abundantly of very 

 fine fruit. 



President Barnard would say that the spraying of fruit trees 

 originated in Iowa, and was practiced there with good effect. There 

 is one thing I think we should and can determine, whether protect- 



