STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 259> 



In regard to last year's fruit crops: The apple trees set an unusually 

 heavy crop, but it was very much thiimed by the codling moth, which is 

 becoming a very serious pest. Probably half the crop fell from the ti-ees 

 before maturity, and of the remainder, fully one-half was wormy. Peo 

 ple are complaining that apples are not keeping well this winter. Of 

 course it is the wormy ones that are rotting. The Winesap seemed the 

 most exempt from worms, and produced heavy crops of handsome and 

 salable fruit. 



The Peach and Cherry crops were good. Cherries not so wormy as- 

 the year before. 



Jrears set pretty well, but die blight finished them. 



Plums, as usual of late years, a complete failure. 



Qiiinces ditto. 



Grapes a fair crop. 



Small fruits, of all kinds, a very good crop. 



Respectfully yours, 



C. S. Capps. 



Mt. Pulaski, January, 1S71. 



HORTICULTURE IN THE ILLINOIS INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY.. 



BY T. J. BLRKILL. 



Illinois justly claims a proud prominence in the agitation and dis- 

 cussion which finally resulted in the munificent land-grant of Congress 

 to the several states, for the purpose of establishing a system of schools, 

 of high rank, whose main object should be, " to promote the liberal and 

 practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and 

 professions of life." 



After the thorough organization of the State Horticultural Society, 

 much was done towards securing and keeping together this valuable 

 donation of Congress, both by the Society as such, and by its individual 

 members. And since the inauguration of the University, no one ought 

 to have, or has felt, a deeper interest in the workings of the school than 

 the members of this Society. It is, therefore, meet that a few words be 

 now recorded in regard to the work done in the Horticultural Depart- 

 ment of the University at Urbana, Champaign County, 111. True, but 

 a short time has elapsed since even a beginning was attempted, and it is 

 well known that horticultural operations require, aye demand time. The 

 location of the University was finally settled May 8th, 1867, and the 

 school went into operation the following March, 186S. 



At first everything was new and crude, so that much time was 

 necessarily consumed in getting ready to even make a start in a direction 

 known to be right. No model existed from which to copy. Theories 

 there were, but such as had never been reduced to practice. All had to 

 be worked out from the mass of half-digested, often discordant opinions 

 everywhere so freely ollered. There were, however, upon the lirst Board 

 of Trustees the following well-known gentlemen specially interested ia 



