66 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



tree]. I say there are too many. Now, if you wish to save pruning, you 

 must trim this tree to three branches. If I were going to set this tree, 

 I would cut off all the branches but three, and then you will not need to 

 trim much after that. Another thing: This idea about having trees one 

 hundred years old is all moonshine. I have trees forty years old, and eight 

 feet in the girth, and they are still growing. They are not worth any- 

 thing but for cordwood. To get what few apples they bear would require 

 a forty-foot ladder. You cannot depend upon an orchard for more than 

 twenty or twenty-five years. It is better to cut down the old trees and 

 plant new. 



Mr. Tull (of Hancock county) said that he once pruned to excess. 

 I have been in the business of fruit culture for forty years, and my testi- 

 mony now is, the less pruning the better. I set my first trees in this 

 State in 1838, and some of these trees are still standing and bearing fruit. 

 There is another matter that has not been touched upon, and that is the 

 different varieties adapted to the different soils. I have an apple called 

 the Alexander. Planted on rich soil, it is not worth anything, because it 

 rots so; but, planted upon poor soil, it is just as free from rot as any apple. 

 Take the Rappahannock planted on prairie soil, and it does not do well ; 

 but on clay soil it does extremely well. In my early experience, the Red 

 June was one of the most profitable apples, but of late years it has proved 

 worthless. As to the time of pruning, I say the middle of June is the 

 best time. If you prune at all, prune then. The wounds soon heal over, 

 and the least harm is done. I have one hundred and fifty varieties of 

 apples in my orchard. Many of them worthless. We made a great mis- 

 take in setting so many worthless varieties. The profitable aprt are few. 

 I used to recommend close setting, but now I would give more room. I 

 recommend cultivation till the orchard is ten years old, then sow to clover 

 and pasture with hogs. I know an orchard thirty-five years old, cultivated 

 every year, and still in good condition. 



The subject of Pear Orchards and Pear Blight was discussed, but no 

 valuable information came out of the debate. 



The subject of Light and Air as Essential in Protecting Fruit, and 

 giving to the apple its ruddy tints, was briefly discussed, and provoked 

 one Mr. Hayes to say that, if he was buying apples to eat, he would not 

 take apples that had red cheeks, if he could help it, for the reason that 

 those which grow " unblushed and unseen" on the inside of the tree, in 

 the shade, were better; and who that has drunk "old wine straightway 

 desires the new " ? 



