348 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



and that timber land is absolutely necessary for the annual production of 

 remunerative crops of apples. 



Dr. C. B. Ostrander, of Avoca, has about 200 trees entirely sur- 

 rounded by a high Osage orange hedge, planted in 1857 and 1858, which 

 he reports as being very productive. His most approved varieties are 

 Smith's Cider, Rawles' Janet, Northern Spy, Domine, Winesap, and 

 Jonathan; productive in alternate years. Smith's Cider is the most 

 valuable; Raw^les' Janet and Northern Spy are No. i ; Domine is a good 

 bearer, but not alw^ays salable ; Winesap proves a shy bearer, and Jona- 

 than fails to keep well. 



Robert Smith, of Owego, Samuel Garner, of Epperd's Point, and C. 

 M. Bennet, of Pontiac, have orchards planted in 1857 and 1858, in all 

 1,700 trees, all on prairie soil, and unprotected. They commenced bear- 

 ing in six or eight years. 



The following varieties prove to be annual bearers, viz: Greening, 

 Baldwin, Red Asti^achan, Snow, Minkler, Winesap, Milam, Fall Pippin, 

 and Red and Sweet Junes. 



Mr. Garner has two orchards on sandy land ; one has a sandy sub-soil, 

 and produces light crops alternate years; the other a clay sub-soil, and 

 produces full crops every year. 



C. N. Bennet recommends the Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, 

 Keswick Codlin, Snow, Minkler, Hubbardston Nonsuch, and Swaar, 

 as being the most productive with him. 



With regard to the relative value of prairie and timber soil, I am 

 inclined to agree with Messrs. Young and Blue, that timber land, or that 

 of a similar nature, sand and clay is absolutely necessary to produce 

 annually remunerative crops of fruit; and protection on the south and 

 southwest sides is at least desirable, if not necessaiy. I know that 

 orchards, unprotected, occasionally produce good crops. On timber soil, 

 protected by belts of timber, most of the varieties with which I am 

 acquainted will produce annually paying crops. 



I would say, plant shallow ; keep the roots near the surface ; cultivate 

 thoroughly, not deeply, until your trees shall attain bearing age; then I 

 would not seed to grass, but let the orchard grow up to weeds, and at the 

 time of gathering fruit, if they are in the way, roll or drag them down to 

 mulch and finally decay and enrich the land. 



Accompanying the above report was a letter from Mr. Amos Edwards, 

 of Amity, Livingston county, containing the following valuable sugges- 

 tions, as the result of his thirty years' experience and observations : He 

 recommends shading the southwest and south sides of the trunks of tender 

 varieties of apple trees with boards, until the branches extend sufficiently 

 to afford a partial protection from the rays of the sun. This prevents the 

 injuries so often seen upon the southwest sides of the exposed bodies of 

 trees. 



He practices covering the ground under his trees with a thick coating 

 of straw, in the spring, as far as the spread of the branches. This has 

 the three-fold effect of affording a mulch, keeping the ground cool and 

 moist, making a soft bed for the apples to fall upon when gathering, and 



