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TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



a planter has discovered to his sorrow, after having been persuaded by a 

 smooth-tongued eastern tree-peddler, to buy and plant them as orchard 

 trees. Some instances are recorded of large profits realized from dwarf pear 

 orchards, but standards are undoubtedly the most valuable for commercial 

 orchards. The so-called dwarf peach and plum trees are produced by 

 working them on the Chickasaw stock. They are only slightly dwarfed 

 by this process, and the only benefit arising from it, is their partial exemp- 

 tion from the peach borer; but this is more than counterbalanced by the 

 great number of suckers thrown up from the roots. The nurseiymen find 

 them more profitable than the fruit grower. 



As to the propriety of grafting old orchards, there is much diversity of 

 opinion. In the Eastern States, they find no difficulty in changing the 

 tops of their trees from one variety to another; but our cliinate is so 

 fickle, and we have such great extremes of heat and cold, that it is very 

 difficult to get a new top established on a tree after it has reached the age 

 of twelve or fifteen years, without a portion of the old wood becoming 

 diseased. Yet we have so many varieties that are but cumbei-ers of the 

 ground, that it becomes necessary to make many changes. And here the 

 question arises: "What varieties shall I work on my unprofitable 

 trees to secure the best results.?" All of us have more or less of 

 Red June, Summer Rose, and Newark Pippin, which are very 

 slow growers and have been found unprofitable. On these I shall 

 work Yellow Bellflower and Red Astrachan, as the stocks will 

 dwarf them sufficiently to bring them into early bearing. Some of 

 us have planted quite largely of Winesaps — from twenty to fifty per 

 cent, of our whole planting. While I would not think of discarding this 

 variety yet, it has suffered so severely from scab and spur-blight the past 

 season, as to cause it to be looked upon with some suspicion. I would 

 suggest the propriety of reducing it to fifteen or twenty per cent, of the 

 w^hole number of trees in the orchard. Upon my own trees of 

 this variety, I shall work Red Canada, Grimes' Golden, and Willow 

 Twig. 



In many orchards we find White Bellflower, White Winter Pear- 

 main, Summer Qiieen, Limber Twig, Grindstone, and numerous varie- 

 ties of sweet apples, which have been found to be worthless. On these 

 I should not hesitate to graft Peck's Pleasant, Red Canada, Maiden's 

 Blush, and Willow Twig, as these varieties will succeed under any ordi- 

 nary circumstances. True, many of these trees will not make first-rate, 

 or even second-rate stocks; yet when they are under ten or twelve 

 years old, it will be found profitable to top-graft to some productive 

 variety. 



As belonging to the topic for discussion, Mr. Willis presented sections 

 of a seven-year-old pear tree, cut from the stem, near the root, showing 

 discolored and peeling bark around the whole body, while cuttings from 

 the top are fresh and green. His inquiry was. What has caused this tree 

 to die.'' He had root-pruned it in November, when it was perfectly 

 sound, and the wood had seemed to be well hardened. • Was it killed by 

 the hard freeze in October.' 



