ALTON HOKRICTI.TIRAL SOCIETY. 385 



FIii^<^ states in his aiiiiual !•(•]»( )rt that answers were received from 

 twenty-seven localities. This information would he interesting- now 

 to us. hut owin«i; to the low state of the treasury of the Society at 

 at that time it is not reported in the little volume of })roceedino[s of 

 that year. F<dlowino^ the severe cold of Jannarv, 1878. [ find that 

 nniny ai)))h' trees are reported as '"doinf? ])oorly." and also that many 

 died outright. Peach trees that survived did well the following year. 



Mr. C. S. Copps, of Logan County, writes for the report of LS74 

 as f(dlows: "Of peaches we had a very fair crop, but it is probably 

 the last crop that will be obtained from trees planted previous to 

 1871. The younger trees seem to be in good condition." 



Dr. M. M. Hooton. of Centralia. reports: '"The effects of the se- 

 vere winter of 1872-78 were such as to convince many of us that a 

 very large percentage of the peach, cherry, apple, and pear trees of 

 the country would die. This has proved true only in ])art. Old 

 peach trees that bore heavy cro])s the year bef(n'e. died, but young 

 trees have rec(jvered in a rennirkable degree, and have borne good 

 cro]>s the past season. This. too. when the bark was entirely sei)a- 

 rated from the wood of the body of tlie trees from the ground u}) to 

 the linibs. Still more remarkal)le is the fact that the bark has never 

 formed any attachment to the wood of the body of the tree, but has 

 continued the tree-growth by new dej)osits of wood in the inside of 

 the bark, in many instances having a fissure of an eighth of an inch 

 between the new and old wood. Cherry and pear trees have only 

 partly recovered. Ai)plo trees have recovered. * * The only effect 

 of the injury of winter before last is apparent in the increased brit- 

 tleness of the limbs, and a discoloration of the wood.' 



Mr. J(diii l{. I'all. of Hancock (^ounty, says: The effect (of 

 the cold in "78 ) was such that it killed a great many bearing trees. 

 In two of my orchards * * * it killed and greatly 



damaged at least half the trees, (apples). 



Jno. M. Pearson — These statements contirm so decidedly the 

 o])inions exjjreseed at our last meeting that I have thought it worth 

 while to reproiluce them, and if it were not for taking up so mu( h 

 of our space would reprint the advice for last month. 



Mr. Pearson suggested that the present, or as soon liereafter as 

 possible, is a good time to set out apple trees: would prefer home- 

 grown trees, and those especially from the nursery now. and would 

 also recommend planting pear trees every year. 

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