374 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



leaf, and now in nearly all of our orchards — not only in Hancock 

 County but tlie entire Northwest — from ten to ninety per cent, are 

 dead. 



There have been numerous theories advanced to account for this 

 wholesale destruction of orchard trees, the most common one being 

 that it is caused by wet feet, from which opinion we beg leave to 

 dissent. 



We find some orchards on flat, wet land, that are killed out- 

 right, there being scarcely a healthy tree left, like those in the 

 northeast part of Wythe Township, belonging to Mr. Berry and Mr. 

 Shepherd, w^iile on the other hand we find orchards just as badly 

 killed on rolling timber soil like that of Capt. Hill, in Wilcox Town- 

 ship. The few fruitful orchards we have this season are also about 

 equally divided between wet, flat, and rolling sites. Those of W. J. 

 Ash and Wm. Gray are on very flat land, the soil being black prairie 

 loam, while those of Geo. P. Walker, Wm. Ayres and H. and S. J. 

 Hammond are on well drained and lighter colored soil. My own 

 orchards are planted on both thin, well drained, and rich flat land, 

 and on the latter site I find the most healthy and productive trees. 

 I have also for twenty-five years been cultivating pears, and have had 

 more fruit and less blight on flat, moist land, than on high, dry 

 ridges. 



I do not wish to have it understood that I would recommend 

 such locations as being the best for orchards under all circumstances, 

 l)ut give the facts as they have have come under my ol)servation that 

 others may draw their own conclusions. 



Another theory in relation to this destruction of trees — and 

 perhaps the most plausible one ■ — is that they ripened up their wood 

 unusually early last fall, and that the warm, wet weather of October 

 and the early part of November started the flow of sap, which of 

 course was frozen by the intense cold of the latter part of the month. 

 The effect of this rreezing was to loosen the bark from the trees, 

 causing a lingering death. A serious objection to this theory is that 

 the Janet, which is the last variety to start in the spring, and 

 should have Ijeen more backward, and therefore less injured than 

 others, was nearly swept out of existence last winter. 



The conditions that caused this disaster seem to have never ex- 

 isted before, and we may reasonably hope that they will not again, at 

 least for many years. 



Trees that were in a vigorous, healthy condition, seem to have 

 suffered less than others; and, in my opinion, the most successful 

 mode of counteracting the effect of our long, cold winters, is to so 

 cultivate and enrich our orchards that the trees will remain thrifty 

 and vigorous. A half starved, sickly tree, can no more endure the 

 vigor of our winters than a half starved sickly horse or cow. 



The best we can do with our orchards is to cut out the dead and 

 dying trees, and, if they are not more than ten or twelve years old, 



