148 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



droughts. This year the apparent effect of the winter has been much 

 greater ; but we must remember the three preceding very dry years, and 

 the two heavy, exhausting crops, the trees had borne. We had no peaches 

 whatever for market at Cobden, Makanda, or Anna, or in any other sec- 

 tion of the district, where peaches are planted largely for market, except 

 at Villa Ridge, where a partial but very remunerative crop was marketed. 

 I learn that the eastern portion of the district yielded some peaches, 

 mostly seedlings ; this was also true in portions of the Mississippi bottom. 

 It is probable that the cold was materially less in the bottom than on the 

 hills, which average some six hundred feet above it ; and it is certain that 

 trees there had been less exhausted by preceding crops and droughts. 

 They had some fine specimens of Crawford's Early. 



The destruction of our Hale's Early trees is very noteworthy; many 

 blocks of them were found entirely dead this summer, and I judge all are 

 much weakened that had borne crops. Whether any of our old peach 

 orchards will ever recover their vigor and usefulness is a question which 

 receives many doubtful answers. Good cultivation the past summer, fol- 

 lowing energetic spring pruning, has failed in most instances to produce 

 the normal, luxuriant growth ; young peach orchards, however, that have 

 been well managed, look exceedingly well. It is, possibly, a good time 

 now to plant peaches in all the hill country of Egypt. 



Our apple crop has been very small in quantity and of unprecedented 

 inferiority; an absolutely perfect apple has been a rare and remarkable 

 sight. Our orchards have, however, escaped unusual injuries, and now, 

 generally, seem full of promise. 



The pear crop has been painfully light, and the fruit much injured 

 bv curculios and codling moths. 



The berry crops were all lighter than ever before. The difficulty of 

 establishing a strawberry field in those sections where they have been 

 common (on account of the crown-borer) is, in many cases, apparently 

 insurmountable. The area of land in that crop is now much less than 

 formerly, and anybody who may be lucky enough to secure a large crop 

 of strawberries, in Egypt, will be reasonably sure of a paying market for 

 many years to come. 



The difficulties to be met, in any branch of fruit culture, are vastly 

 greater than they were ten years ago ; and it seems inevitable that a 

 majority who engage therein will fail to gain large profits. Yet never was 

 there a better time, for men who can bring skill, thoroughness and 

 unwearying energy to the work, to plant largely of our leading commer- 

 cial fruits ; and for this enterprise, I firmly believe, our Egyptian hills 

 present unsurpassed invitations. 



Cobden, III., Dec. 6, 1873. PARKER EARLE. 



FAILURE OF THE FRUIT CROP OF 1873. 

 This subject being next in order, 



Mr. Daggy remarked — I will say it is because the trees were killed. 

 Mr. Flagg — I think the causes have been pretty well developed by 

 the reports of the Vice-Presidents ; but 1 suppose it will be well to bring 



