STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 345 



yards of Catawba, Isabella, and Clinton, of a few hundred vines each, 

 along the Illinois River, which, in years past, have done very well when 

 well drained and cultivated thoroughly; but of late years most of them 

 have suffered neglect, and have become diseased. Very many grape 

 roots have been planted, within a few years, all through the county, and 

 very many quite large vineyards have sprung up. I find the Concord to 

 be the one great grape of them all, although the Delaware does finely 

 on the prairie and bluffs, but is almost worthless on the bottom. 



The vineyards with which I am acquainted, consist, principally, of 

 Concord, Delaware, Diana, Ives', Hartford Prolific, Perkins, Isabella; 

 with a few Catawba and Clinton ; also a few of the newer varieties, as 

 Martha, Eumelan, Walter, Salem, Rogers' and Arnold's Hybrids, and 

 others. Almost all seem to do well in whatever soil they are placed, and 

 yield generous returns to the cultivator. 



Stnall Fruits all seem to be perfectly at home here. Of Raspberries, 

 Doolittle and Golden Cap are the best. The Kittatinny Blackberry has 

 done moderately well, while other varieties winter-kill, except Missouri 

 Mammoth, which is good neither to bear fruit or anything else. Straw- 

 berries, Currants, Gooseberries, and other small fruits, yield abundant 

 returns. 



CLAY COUNTY. 



BY C. H. MURRAY. 



Clay City, III., Dec. 15, 1870. 

 Mr. O. B. Galusha, Secretary of State Horticultural Society : 



Dear Sir: — In reply to the request you make of me to give some 

 account of the first orchards planted in Clay County, I have the honor to 

 report as follows : 



This information, as far as I have been able to get it this year, attaches 

 chiefly to the southern part of our county. In 1838, Aaron Smith, who 

 then resided in the southern part of our county, began a nursery of apple 

 trees. Two years later, Aaron O. Finch, his neighbor, also planted a 

 nursery of apple. From these two efforts nearly all the old trees of this 

 county were derived. Their fate, as far as I have been able to learn, has 

 been quite similar under like circumstances. The orchard of Mr. Finch 

 merits a detailed statement. 



He planted the seed in 1840, and in the spring of 1843 he set out fifty 

 trees, and the following fall, fifty more along side of those, on like soil. 

 The orchard was set two rods apart each way in quadrangular style. 

 The entire orchard always received the same culture, yet notwithstanding 

 this, the half set in the spring rapidly out-grew the other, and the differ- 

 ence at this date between the two parts of the orchard is so reinarkably 

 in favor of the spring-set, that a person would have no hesitation in say- 

 ing that they had been planted ten years earlier. 



This orchard of 100 trees always received from Mr. Finch, during his 

 lifetime, tlie greatest care and supervision. It was kept in a fine state of 



