76 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



stiff breeze from the west, and the mercury precisely at the freezing point. 



April 17. It continued cloudy all night, with considerable wind from 

 the north. On getting up this morning, found it snowing briskly ; wind 

 north and the mercury at 28 degrees. The snow soon ceased, about an inch 

 having fallen. Towards noon the clouds broke away, and the mercury 

 went up to 44 degrees, falling about sundown to 42 degrees. 



April 18. Clear, with sharp frost; the thermometer at 32 degrees. 



The Seckel pears escaped almost without injur)', the blossoms not 

 being fully open. Some other varieties produced partial crops, among 

 them Belle Lucrative, Easter Beurre, Duchess d'Angouleme, and Bart- 

 lett. Apples were more or less injured. In Union County, as I am 

 informed, there was not more than one fourth of a crop, and there was 

 not half a crop except in a few orchards, anywhere in my district. For 

 some unexplained reason, my own apple orchard was but little injured 

 by the frost, and most varieties, especially the late ones, produced very 

 full crops. Although the young fruit and open blossoms were all killed, 

 the strawberry crop was sufficiently abundant for the market. Planta- 

 tions that had not been well cultivated the previous season produced poor 

 crops, a drouth in the fall having prevented the plants from attaining 

 their usual strength. Grapes, generally, made a pretty fair crop, notwith- 

 standing the destruction of most of the lirst buds. Raspben-ies and 

 blackberries were abundant. 



The apple crop was considerably injured by the curculio, and, in some 

 localities by the codling worm. The winter apples have ripened earlier 

 than usual and many varieties rotted badly on the trees. Those most 

 affected in this way, so far as my observation extended, were American 

 Golden Russet, Northern Spy, and Jonathan. Smith's Cider rotted 

 some on trees growing near other varieties that were badly affected, but 

 were exempt in other localities. It is to be hoped that our State Horti- 

 culturist will tell us the cause of this apple rot, and, in order to bring him 

 out, I venture the opinion that the cause is the same as in peaches and 

 plums; namely, insect depredations.. 



The untimely October freeze of last year, which did so much damage 

 further north, reached us also, but with less severity. In some places 

 young trees were injured to some extent, and in some instances killed 

 entirely. In the experimental pear orchard of my friend, Mr. Earle, 

 where there are about one hundred varieties, many kinds suffered severely, 

 as he has informed me, and some were quite destroyed. Fortunately 

 those varieties that are relied upon for general cultivation escaped serious 

 injury. 



The past season was a very pleasant one and exceedingly favorable for 

 all farm crops. The greatest heat observed by me was 96 degrees, and 

 that but once or twice for a little while in the afternoon. Rains were 

 plentiful everywhere in the district, and in some parts of it rather super- 

 abundant. 



The President had kiiown that at Centralia, with the mercury 

 &t 33 degrees, they had a good peach crop, but at Moro (his residence), 



