254 ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I do not question that a thoroughly practical and scientific orchard- 

 ist may grow fruit with profit. But that farmers generally, in the slip- 

 shod manner in which it is done, can profitably grow fruit, I do not believe. 

 At any rate, it is well to look at both sides of t^his question. 



D. Williams — I can sympathize with Dr. Long in his views of this 

 question, and I affirm here to-day, that there is almost no sale for the 

 apples grown in this region. They are very poor in quality this year — so 

 poor, sir, that if they were given to me, I could not ship them to Chicago 

 with any hope of getting as much as the cost of transportation and coop- 

 erage. From some cause, our apples are very inferior to those of Michi- 

 gan and Western New York. Why, sir, I was in Chicago the other day, 

 and saw our apples side by side with those from Ind., Mich,, and N. Y., 

 and I was surprised at the contrast. Our apples would not sell with them. 

 It was like asking a man to give you a dollar for a dime. If this is to be 

 the quality of our fruit in the future, I can see no possible profit in ex- 

 tending our orchards. I have plenty of apples, and want to sell them, 

 but it is useless to ship them to Chicago, for they will not pay expenses. 

 The St. Louis market is little if any better. 



Mr. Miller testified to the inferioriiy of our apples, as compared with 

 those from other sections, as he saw them in the Chicago market, the 

 past summer. Good apples were in demand, but poor apples were dull 

 at any price. 



Dr. Hull, while admitting the failure which almost inevitably attends 

 the slip-shod culture system of the majority of orchardists, yet took a 

 hopeful view of the subject as it regards the careful cultivator. " It will 

 pay to grow fruit, if you will grow it well. There is no better fruit region 

 in the world (with few exceptions), for such fruits as we do grow, than 

 right here. The Michigan fruit-growers are now in the condition as to 

 their orchards, which we once were when our fruit was fair, and they will 

 soon be in the condition in which we now are, unless thev are more care- 

 ful than we have been." He thought, however, we should yet retrieve 

 our former good name, and grow fruit equal to that of any other district. 

 This by " eternal vigilance," and not otherwise. The Doctor was careful 

 not to give a crumb of comfort to shoddy cultivators. 



Mr. Huggins explained that his position was scarcely in conflict with 

 the views expressed. He was, in his case, hopeful of satisfactory returns, 

 because he meant to give his orchard the attention which it demanded. 

 He was wide awake to the importance of careful culture, and proper 

 treatment of the orchard, and did not think a dilTerent course would be 

 successful. The discussion was continued for an hour, participated in by 

 Hyde, Hollister and others. 



Drs. Hull and Long questioned the theory advanced at Champaign, 

 that the drought had something to do with killing the fruit trees last 

 winter. 



Captain Hollister's observations were that trees standing in hard 

 ground without cultivation were injured, and sometimes killed, while trees 

 cultivated suffered no harm. 



