STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 295 



portation, and the terrible ravages of the insects and ]jliL;ht. Wc have 

 no raihoad, and it is a long way to haul frnit in wagons to St. Louis 

 market, which is our nearest. The river transportation ofVers better facil- 

 ities to the orchardists upon the river bottoms, and doubtless more care 

 and culture would abate the ravages of those enemies of horticulturists 

 throughout the county. It might be added that the leading popular 

 varieties here are those recommended by the Illinois and Missouri State 

 Horticultural Societies, and this is true also of all other kintls of fruit. 

 There are some nice small collections of pears, and they do very well 

 in the American Bottom. There are fine, vigorous trees there, over a 

 century old, but their fruit is inferior. 



The Bartlett is the favorite pear here, but there are other excellent 

 varieties common in the fruit catalogues. 



The cultivation oi f caches has proved almost a failure, and little or no 

 attention is paid to it. The crop is uncertain, and the fruit and trees have 

 so many enemies that the planter puts out his peach trees, not from any 

 hope of return or profit, but from a sort of habit founded upon old recol- 

 lections. The varieties planted are those usually prominent in popular 

 catalogues. 



If anything is a greater failure here than peach culture, it is that of 

 the plums^ owing to the ravages of that little Turk of the Crescent, the 

 Curculio, which our people, not being Russians, have been unable to fight 

 successfully. Even wild plums are becoming exceedingly rare. 



Cherries generally do well, the principal varieties being the Morello, 

 May Duke, Early Purple, Downer's Late Red, and Yellow Spanish. 

 Cherry trees are not numerous, however. Very little small fruit is raised. 

 Houghton seedling gooseberry, red, white, and black currants, red and 

 yellow raspberries, are all occasionally seen, and do very well. Blackcap 

 raspberry has been but little tried. Not a tithe of the small fruit neces- 

 sary for home use is raised here. 



Grape culture has received considerable attention, and is in quite an 

 advanced condition. John VViesenborn, in 1S3S, went to Cincinnati and 

 brought thence a number of Isabella and Catawba vines, and set out the 

 first vineyard in this county; and from his, the principal vineyards were 

 planted, until 1863, at which time there were about one hundred acres in 

 the whole county. Then a new era commenced ; the Concord and other 

 fine varieties took the place of the Catawba, which has become ^'ery 

 uncertain in its crops and yield. Now at least two hundred acres, nearly 

 all bearing, are scattered over the county. 



In 1864 gi-eat numbers were obtained from Hermann, IVIo. Many 

 varieties have been tried here, and the best are Norton's Virginia, Con- 

 cord, Ives' Seedling, Rulander, Maiy Ann, Hartford Prolific, Clinton, 

 North Carolina Seedling, Martha, Goethe, Nortliern ISIuscadine, Ilerbe- 

 mont, Cunningham, Blood's Black, Taylor, Waterloo, ami CynUiiana. 

 The Isabella and Catawba are filling, and Canada, Delaware, lona, Tsra- 

 ella, and Riessling have proved almost worthless. In preparing the 

 ground for planting, we break up deep, dig holes, and plant about twelve 

 to fourteen inches deep, six or eight feet by eight feet apart, cultivate with 



