92 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



Of the varieties of fruits we know we find the Duchess, Red 

 Astrachan, Fameuse. Ribston Pippin, Drap de Or^ Belle de Boskoop, 

 and Russet apples; the Flemish Beauty and Bessi de la Mott pears; 

 and the English Morello^ Late Kentish and Early Kentish cherries. 

 Yet in the preferred list of winter apples we find Bauman's Reinette, 

 Possart's Nalivia, Batullen, Boiken, and many other sorts of the 

 apple, pear, and cherry not known to our lists, and only described fully 

 in the very complete works of Lauche^ entitled " Deutche Pomolo- 

 gie." This recently published work, in three volumes, by one of the 

 most competent pomologists of North Europe, should be added to 

 the libraries of our horticultural societies and agricultural colleges, 

 as it is the best statement of facts relative to the origin and races of 

 our cultivated fruits suitable for northern inland culture yet pub- 

 lished. 



This region, extending, say, to Warsaw, in Poland, and Kiev, in 

 Russia, is an interesting one to the horticultural student, as it may 

 be called the "border land," where the fruits of the east and west 

 have met and become, in the course of time, iiifei'ovssed, giving, in a 

 large measure, trees with the hardiness needed in this portion of the 

 east plain, yet bearing fruit equalling — and in some cases superior 

 to. on account of the drier air — the best found on the north plain. 

 The. pears and cherries of this region are peculiarly interesting. Of 

 pears, the Sapiegauka, Red Bergamot; Confessel's Birne, Funtovka, 

 Grumkower, Siegel's Winter, Salzburg, etc., are there far hardier 

 than the Flemish Beauty (known as Belle de Flanders), and some of 

 them, we think, will be less liable to blight than those we have tried, 

 on account of their adaptation in leaf to stand a dry air and hot sun. 



The cherries include very many varieties of the low-growing 

 Griottes, which line the public highways over the plains to an extent 

 not observed in any other country. All of these are considered hard- 

 ier in tree, better in fruit, and more regular in crops than our Early 

 Richmond, or any one of the Flemish or Montmorency race. 



A class of sweet or half-sweet cherries is also largely grown in 

 this part of the plain which, in leaf and bud, resembles the Dukes, 

 yet the trees are low and round, topped like what they call the Am- 

 orels. So far as I know, the cherries of this region are not known 

 on this continent, except a few trial specimens on the college 

 grounds at Ames. 



Passing eastward from Kiev to Koursk, Orel, and Veronesh, we 

 find the apple, pear, cherry, and plum grown for home consumption 

 and exportation, yet we find very few of the varieties last referred 

 to. This is forcibly impressed by notes taken down from the dicta- 

 tion of Dr. Fischer, of Voronesh, who has had a long pomological 

 experience in this region. Said he, no Silesian or Polish fruits will 

 grow here profitably except a few of our native fruits which have 

 strayed into their orchards, and which they may now claim as their 

 own, like our Autonovka and Longfield apple, and Bessemianka pear. 



