STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 11 



divided between Eagan, Lee and myself ; neither of us had success in raising the Chestnuts, and 

 but few of the Hickory trees are now alivo. Nearly all our deciduous trees were then obtained 

 from the surrounding woods, brought in on wagons and peddled about the streets. Many of (hem 

 grew well and aro now beautiful shade trees; but at least two-thirds were planted in that portion 

 of the city which the wants of trade has appropriated, to the destruction of the trees. For the 

 last ten years the shade and ornamental trees of Chicago, and its Bnrroundtngs, have been drawn 

 from every quarter. The Atlantic coast, Europe and Great Britain have all contributed their 

 sickly stock ; but now, supplies are mostly obtained from our Northwestern nurseries, and wo 

 may hereafter look for a record of healthy growth. The tfrst planting of apple trees in Cook 

 county which could be dignified with the name of orchard, was made in the spring of 1838, by Ben- 

 jamin Tibbets on his farm, which is now the site of the beautiful suburb of Hyde Park; they 

 wet e procured from the East ; nor was there among the twenty-three or four kinds which composed 

 the eleven hundred trees set, more than a single variety which we would consider appropriate to 

 our climate. The exception is a vigorous, hardy tree, bearing large crops of a small, oblate, bright 

 red apple, of a sprightly acid flavor, and keeping well into June; it. strongly resembles the Bac- 

 calinus. Its location is on a naturally underdrained, sandy ridge. I have often passed by it during 

 the past twenty-five years, and always found it a sadly taken-caro-of orchard, which grow and 

 bore to a limited extent, despite neglect. Three-fourths of the trees are still standing, but in a 

 year or two more, they will all have given way to the town improvements, so rapidly expending in 

 this quarter. The first planting of apple trees, other than named varieties, in the northern and 

 centra! portions of our county, are probably those of Joseph Viol, on Section 18, Town 38, Range 

 12, ami Samuel Eiston on the north branch of the Chicago river, within the present limits of the 

 city. These two orchards were planted in 1833-1. The first of these is being supplanted with 

 better varieties. The site of the last is now occupied with factories, and dwelling houses. Well 

 nig'i contemporary with the above, DeWitt Lane planted 3 or 400 apple and peach trees near 

 Blue Island, which were in 1836 removed to Lane's Island, 17 miles south of Chicago; this orchard 

 still exists; few trees of the apple having died, and many, being in subsequent years top-grafted, 

 still bear well. The peaches bore tor several years, say seven good crops, and then gradually 

 died out. The peaches were all raised from the pits set out by Mr. Lane, and many of them 

 chanced to be of fair size and flavor. 



In the Southern part of the county, at Batchellor's Grovo, during the spring of 1833, Thomas 

 McClintock, AlvaCrandal, Samuel Everdon, and Stephen Rexford, planted orchards of peach and 

 apple trees. The apple trees were from the nursery of McClintock, who had tlio previous year* 

 sowed one-half bushel of seeds which he brought from Westfleld, in Chautauqua county, N.Y., on 

 his emigration to this State in 1831-2. The native fruit of these orchards supplied the neighbor- 

 ing Ounilies tor many years, with apples of a fair quality. These orchard sites were better than 

 thosH of any of the plantings yet named. In a grove, well protected, and on ground cleared of 

 native forest trees; they still remain tolerably fair orchards, promising to live for many years. 

 That of Stephen Kexford received more attention than was usually given to the early efforts of 

 the settlers in this line. It has been all grafted with better varieties, as from time to time oppor- 

 tunity gave him the cions. It is now mainly made up of the " Snow," Winesap, Jersey Black, 

 and Bellfiower, the last bearing well, ami valued by Mr. Kexford as one of his most profitable 

 apples. The peach trees planted a< this time by some tenor twelve families of this early settle- 

 ment, were from the same source — Met 'lint nek's —and it is worthy of note, that when they wero 

 of a b.aring age, they yearly gave full yields up to the summer of 181 1, after which they bore a 

 few crops until the winter of I860 killed to the ground these and all other peach trees in this 

 county. No attempt at a commercial orchard of Improved varieties, adapted to our soil and cli- 

 mate appears to have been made previous to 1846, B hen Hon. M. L. Dunlap planted fifteen acres 

 on Section 18, Town ot Leyden, distant from the couri house in Chicago, 16 miles. About 160 kinds 

 were set out, many of which wore Synonyms. Nearly three fourths of the orchard had been re- 

 planted up to 1856. The varieties that now remain alivo and satisfactory, are Kawles Janet, 



