SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS. 247 



The varieties I have cultivated most are roncord for protit and 

 main crop for market. Hartford for early; good for early market — 

 needs winter i)rotecti()n. Delaware for good qualities and earliness; 

 a great bearer and the standard of excellence in this section, ( winter 

 protection ). [ have tried many others. White Martha is best, equal 

 to Concord for hardiness and }»roductivene8s. Diana is good on 

 rather thin ground: needs winter protection. Rogers" 15 is a good 

 red one; lU is better. Salem is best of the three. Rogers' 8. 4. 1> 

 ami 48 are good, but all need winter protection. Harrison is good 

 and an enormous bearer, lirighton is equal to Catawba for flavor, and 

 is one of the earliest to ripen, and T think it as hardy as Concord. I 

 will say right here that my seedling Sophia bore the flnest fruit that 

 I had the past season. No winter jn-ot^ction was given to any of my 

 vines last winter; while Rogers' hybrids were frozen to the ground the 

 S()])hia was unhurt and bore a good crop. For winter ])r()tection. 

 brush thrown over the vines, and leaves thrown among them sulfici- 

 ent to cover the vines, is the best protection we can get for winter. 

 Dirt need not be used when brush and leaves are used. 



Apples were a total failure with us in this county last season. 

 There were very few English (lolden Russets, so few that we may 

 call it a total failure. There w-ere very few Duchess. There were a 

 great many apple trees killed bv the hard freezing of the winter of 

 1882-83. ' Out of seventy-iive'Walbridge. set in orchard, T lost tif- 

 teen trees by freezing; LaAvl)er. out of thirty-four, all came out good. 

 Golden Russet, in seventeen, one lost; Grimes' Golden, in seventeen, 

 one lost; Bailey's Sweet, in seventeen, one lost. .Teffries and Rawle's 

 Janet all right; Domine. fourteen, all hurt; Willow Twig, half 

 hurt. Mann, out of eighty trees ten dead, about tw'enty half frozen, 

 balance grew pretty well, but the wood was more or less colored. 

 Seventeen Perry Russet all right; Sweet Pear all right; Snow all 

 rifrht; Schiawassa Beantv all right; Wythe, not ii bud hurt on root 

 or top-grafted trees; Salome, not a twig or teriuinal luid was hurt, 

 came out with wood as white apparently in spring as it went into 

 winter with. It appears to be equally as hardy as Duchess of Olden- 

 burg or Whitney's No. 20, which appears to be a model of hardiness. 

 Tetofskey all right; Red Astrachan wood-colored some, but grew 

 well last season. Early Harvest, about all killed: Fall Geniton all 

 right; Sweet June, wood-colored a little, but grew well last season. 

 IM^ soil is very dry rolling prairie and does not hold surplus water. 



Cherries — Early Richmond: There were some few trees that 

 bore fair crops in Forreston, but my trees were all frozen to death. 



Pears — A few Seckle only. 



Rasjtherries — The Gregg was well loaded wherever I saw it: 

 (hithbert bore s])aringly: Turner was loaded, as it always is with me: 

 Reliance was so loaded the |)lants bent to the ground with their loads 

 of large berries. 



