STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 339 



Trees all vigorous and healthy, except Baldwin, which is troubled with 

 canker spots, and seems to be generally unhealthy, with him. Red 

 Astrachan is very productive. Rambo, American Siunmer Pearmain, 

 and Dominc do well. Soil: black loam, sub-soil drift, southwest expo- 

 sure — no protection. 



The foregoing are all the orchards on the south side of the Illinois 

 River, which I will make mention of, although there are many as large 

 or larger, dotting the prairie over here and there; and to-day almost every 

 quarter section contains its dozens, fifties, or hundreds of apple trees, 

 growing more or less thriftily, and are more or less productive, according 

 to variety, soil, and cultivation. 



North of the Illinois River, north of Utica, I find an orchard set by 

 Truman Hardy, on open prairie, with no protection, containing about 

 c;oo trees, most of which were set in 1S48. The varieties are principally 

 RaAvles' Janet, Domine, Little Romanite, Pennock, Red Astrachan, 

 Rhode Island Greening, Winesap, Yellow Bellflovver, Northern Spy, 

 Newtown Pippin, Early Harvest, and many other varieties. Many of 

 these trees have been set since the first plantings, and are of later and 

 newer varieties; names unknown to the occupants, no records having 

 been kept of the same. Many of the old trees have been grafted over, 

 especially the unproductive sorts, such as Yellow Bellflower. This 

 orchard, a few y^^rs ago, was in a vigorous, thrifty, and productive condi- 

 tion ; but bark-lice, borers, and more especially neglect^ are fast decimat- 

 ing it. 



In another orchard I found many trees of the American Summer 

 Pearmain, which, though much neglected, were annually producing large 

 crops of fine fruit. 



North of Ottawa, in the town of Dayton, I find a large orchard con- 

 taining thirty-five acres, set in 1844, by Col. Wells Wait, who at that 

 time had also a nurseiy there, from which the trees were obtained for 

 planting many of the older orchards in the northern part of the county. 

 This orchard staiids on rather high ground, on open prairie, without pro- 

 tection, and has been quite neglected, yet the larger portion, say three- 

 quarters of the original planting, are alive and doing quite well now. 

 Neglect, bark-lice, and borers seem to be its chief troubles. The varie- 

 ties are about the same as mentioned in orchards spoken of before. Of 

 these, the present proprietor informs me that he regards, as best for all 

 purposes. Domine, Rawles' Janet, Winesap, Fall Pippin, Winter Pippin, 

 Rox. Russet, Snow (Fameuse), Large and Small Romanite. 



In response to inquiries made of Martin Allen, of Mendota, I 

 received the following reply, which I have condensed somewhat from 

 original : 



" In 1833, J. and P. Dewey (father and son), settled on north side of Troy Grove. 

 They came from Ohio; brought with them apple seeds {from good sorts), which 

 they planted. N£xt spring got 100 trees from Teoria, which were sent out the year 

 before from Ohio. There were thirteen sorts in the lot; some wrongly labeled and 

 others not known. In 1836, fifty more grafted trees were obtained. Of these plant- 

 ings, strange to say, Early Pennock and Winter Pennock, three of each, are ^et 

 standing and doing well; while the Red Romanites are all gone. AH the Rambos 



