12 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



DISCUSSION ON THE REPORT. 



Mr. McWhorter (of Mercer county) inquired what varieties of 

 cherry trees were most affected by the winter. Some varieties are more 

 hardy than others. It had been the result of his observation that the 

 English Morello variety was less hardy than the Early Richmond. Is 

 that the general experience ? 



Mr. Rogers (of Marengo) replied that they did not have the Eng- 

 lish Morello. He thought it was a common mistake to confound the 

 English Morello with the Black Morello. 



Dr. Humphrey (of Galesburg) — The Black Morello froze to death 

 with us in Knox county in the winters of 1872-3 — large trees were killed 

 outright — while the Early Richmonds stood the winters well, and gave 

 full crops of fruit. The Early Richmond bore well last year, while the 

 Black Morello bore nothing. I think the cold weather, with the previous 

 overbearing, has utterly ruined our trees. Is it not a fact that our com- 

 mon Morello trees will live about so long and then die? In my experi- 

 ence that seems to be the case. 



Mr. Minkler (of Oswego ) gave it as his experience that our Morella 

 cherry trees would, after a limited number of years, fail and die; and 

 the true policy is to plant new orchards, and so provide for the decay and 

 failure of the old. 



Mr. McWhorter gave as his observation, that the Early Richmond 

 was hardier and far more reliable than the Morello varieties. He remem- 

 bered that in 1856 the Black Morello was much injured by the cold, while 

 the wood of the Early Richmond was perfectly sound. His opinion was 

 that the longevity of the trees was shortened by the hard winters, and 

 not that they died of old age, as suggested. 



Mr. Scofield (of Freeport) raised the question whether it was not a 

 fact that trees worked upon the Morello stock fail because of that fact. 

 He said that he had lost many trees on his grounds from this cause, as he 

 believed. Trees grafted on the Mahaleh, he said, were still healthy and 

 doing well. Trees grafted on the Black Morello stock soon show weak- 

 ness. I attribute it, he said, to the effect of the cold winters. 



Dr. Humphrey said that he had frequently taken the Black Morello^ 

 sprouts and planted them, and afterwards budded them two or three feet 

 from the ground ; and they have done well, and proved healthy, and 

 bore good crops after the third year. But there is another question to- 



