58 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



Prof, Burrill and I visited the Dunlap orchard south of Cham- 

 paign. Mr. Dun hip was attending the Fair, and we did not have a 

 chance to ask him any questions aljout this orchard. We found the 

 trees lieavily hiden with fruit, and the trees in a good, healthy con- 

 dition. The hmd, as many of you well know, on which this orchard 

 is planted, is very low aud flat. It has good surface drainage. The 

 land was thrown up in ridges and the trees planted thereon. The 

 trees are planted about twenty-five feet apart, and they now shade 

 nearly all the ground. On the lawn at Mr. Dunlap's there are sev- 

 eral varieties of pears growing in a blue-grass sod, among them the 

 Tyson, which is doing well. The White Doyenne was badly cracked. 

 We also saw some very healthy and vigorous pear trees growing, 

 singly, in a blue-grass sod in his pasture, but did not know the vari- 

 eties. These orchards are well sheltered by belts of trees, mostly 

 soft maples. I was informed that nearly all the orchards in Cham- 

 paign County, planted on low or level land, were doing very much 

 better than those on the high and rolling ground. The trees are in 

 a more healthy and vigorous condition, and bearing more abundantly. 

 On the high rolling ground they were in an unhealthy condition and 

 bearing but few apples. Will some gentleman here, tell us why this 

 is so? We have been taught that the high and rolling lands, for 

 orchards, were better than the low lands. Is it possible our teachers 

 have been leading us astray ? Let us wake up and look around, and, 

 if possible, find out the cause. Are we not too apt to follow the 

 advice of some one in whom we have great confidence, rather than 

 solve these problems ourselves? 



I think one great drawback to successful fruit culture is sys- 

 tematic and thorough tile draining and preparation of the land^ and 

 a careful selection of good, healthy varieties. Is there a gentleman 

 present who can cite us to a single orchard in the State of Illinois 

 that has received this thorough preparation and selection of trees 

 and plants? If so, will he please tell us where. 



I will cite three authorities on fruit growing in regard to tile 

 draining orchards, and you will see how their testimony conflicts: 



On page 210 of our Transactions for 1869, Dr. Hull says: ''Tile 

 draining orchards is not worth a fig. In the State of Michigan I 

 have been in one hundred and fifty orchards in which it was resorted 

 to, and in all of them the ditches became filled up." 



On page 215 of the same volume, Mr. Pierson, of Onargo, asks 

 Mr. Thos. Meehan the following question: "Mr. Meehan, what is 

 your opinion of tile draining?" Mr. Meehan's answer was this: "I 

 would not 2Jut an orchard where it required tile draining. I never 

 found any profit from tile draining in fruit orchards."' 



On pages 130 and 131 of the same volume Mr. P. Barry says: 

 " The soil which experience has shown to be best adapted to the pear 

 on the whole (what applies to the pear orchard will apply to the 

 apple), is a deep sandy or gravelly loam with a soft clay subsoil. 



