2 TRANSACTIONS DF THE ILLINOIS 



too dry to transplant treei, ct ; to carry ihem safely through the winter, in the nurseiy 

 and orchard. We ought not to i;cihplain, for we have a partial crop of fruits and cereals. 



"Strawberries were a light crop, on account of the drouth ; Cherries were good in 

 quality — not stung by the Curculio; Gooseberries were a good crop; Currants n very 

 light crop ; the Pear crop did not amount to much, as trees which were left by the hard 

 winter were blighted badly ; Apples were an exceedingly light crop, and badly infested 

 with Codling moth ; there were not a hundred bushels this year where there were a 

 thousand last year. 



"Prices of apples have ranged as follows : Earliest $1.25, Fall 50 cents. Late Fall 

 75 cents. Winter $1.00 per bushel, in November; they will probably bring $1.25 this 

 winter. Cider is worth 25 cents per gallon. 



" Nursery stock was much injured by the winter, or some other cause — probably 

 the excessive dryness of the soil, together with hard freezing." 



Hon. Elmer Baldwin, of La Salle county, says: 



"Apple trees, one and two years old in the nursery, are much injured in the top, 

 many being killed nearly to the ground, while the roots were uninjured. Trees 

 three or four years old were apparently uninjured, but where transplanted did not grow 

 well — indicating a weakened vitality — and trees one year transplanted were mostly 

 killed ; the Stark suffering more than any other varietv. 



" Many orchard trees were late in coming into leaf — some of these maintaining a 

 sickly appearance through the season, while a large portion thus affected died outright. 

 The number affected was not large, but embraced a few in nearly every orchard. 



"The Apple crop was almost an entire failure, especially in old orchards ; those 

 that had been bearing from three to five years did much the best. There was consid- 

 erable bloom, but the blossoms seemed imperfect, most of them failed to set fruit, and 

 the few germs that formed soon fell off or produced a few specimens of small, imper- 

 fect fruit. Maiden's Blush, Ben Davis, Willow Twig, and in some orchards Domine, 

 did the best ; in fact, but few other varieties produced any fruit of value. Ben Davis 

 was the most productive of any sort. 



"Pears were not as much injured as apples, and in some instances produced a fair 

 crop of fruit. 



" Of Grapes, the Concord vines left on the trellis, entirely unprotected, were not 

 injured in the least, but have produced a full crop. Catawba, Delaware, and most 

 other varieties of vines left exposed, were killed to the ground ; but my old Delawares 

 have made a splendid growth from the ground, and are much improved by the killing. 

 I expect a full crop from them next year. 



" Kittatinny Blackbeny was mostly killed; Doolittle, Miami, Purple Cane and 

 Philadelphia Raspberries stood the winter well and gave good crops. 



" The effect generally on shrubs and plants was such as severe cold usually 

 produces — killing the tops only. But severe cold was not the primary cause of damage 

 to the apple orchards. Three successive seasons of drought, with two heavy crops of 

 fruit in succession, had so reduced the vitality of the trees as to account for failure of 

 the fruit crop and all the injury dorte ; I am more fully convinced than ever that 

 extreme drought, so common in our climate, is the greatest enemy to the fruit culturist. 

 It is, doubtless, true that the severe cold of such a winter as the last, following excessive 

 drought, will double the injury already done; but such a season of cold following a 

 reasonably wet season will do but little comparative injury — always excepting cases of 

 second growth late in the season, which must ever \>q followed by disastrous results ; 

 and these can be prevented by so protecting from drought by mulching or thorough 

 culture as to prevent a suspension of growth the last of summer; as a second growth 

 and swelling of the buds never occurs till after a season of rest. Orchards fully exposed 

 to the prairie winds, and occupying northern or western slopes, have fared no worse 

 the past season than those protected by timber belts ; but those several years in grass, 

 especially blue grass, suffered much more than others. 



" Encouraged by two good fruit crops in succession, the people of La Salle county 

 have made good progress in setting out orchards, small fruit, shade and ornamental 



