STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 195 



For moderately injuring an orchard he only charged twenty to twenty-five cents a 

 tree; quite reasonable Compared with some others of the tribe. A little reflection 

 would save most men from the hands of these barnacles. 



AT LACON 



we met D. B. Wler and spent part of the day in his grounds. Mr. W. is a grower of 

 forest tree seedlings, of which he had several acres. The seed had not germinated to 

 his satisfaction, and the stand was light, but the plants were in good condition. The 

 nursery woe also In fine condition. The soil is excellent for the growth of forest seed- 

 lings and nursery stocks. Mr. W. has several seedlings that he thinks promising, but 

 as none of them were in fruit, the committee could not judge of their value. 



AT ALTON 



grapes are the present hobby, grapes for market and grapes for wine. A change in 

 the system of traiuing, or a change in the seasons, have worked a wonderful change. 

 The spiral plan of training promises to supercede all others. A little pinching back of 

 the fruiting cane, but none of the young shoots, allowing them to grow rampart like 

 the native vine, to supply the roots with a store of material for the following year. 

 The fruit grows in whorls about the stake, the growth full of health and vigor, and the 

 clusters are of uniform size and more fully developed. The system is simple and cheap 

 and with results the most satisfactory. The large vineyard of James E. Starr at Elsah, 

 is the best cample of the mode of training that I have seen. 



The codling moth is discouraging the apple growers about Alton, and unless it can 

 be checked the business will be ruined. The magnificent orchard of W. C. Flagg has 

 produced poor returns the past two years. It is probable that the light crop of last 

 season may tend to check the spread of this insect. No remedy has yet been applied 

 so far as I can learn. 



AT ST. JOSEPH. 



Two days and a half on the hither side of Lake Michigan, gave an opportunity to 

 study fruit growing in that famed locality. The district now in fruit is but a speck on 

 the map, a mere strip along the lake, twelve miles long and three inland. This is all 

 that is in the orchards, but the belt is supposed to extend a long distance to the north, 

 and somewhat more inland. It will require millions of dollars to utilize all this fruit 

 region, and it must take a generation or more to do it, for it must be carved out of 

 the thick tangled forest. 



Thus far, only enough for one of our Congressional township has been made sacred to 

 Pomona, and yet that township last year sent to this 6ide of the lake, nearly a million 

 of dollars worth of horticultural products. Surely fruit growing must make them fair- 

 returns. 



Our friends over the lake have been wise in one thing— they have made small planta- 

 tions, and thus been able to cultivate them in the most thorough manner. They had 

 forest walls to hew down and stumps to dig up ; while our planters could turn up the 

 deep prairie drift and plant at once ; and as planting and trees are but a small part of the 

 outlay, were induced to plant too much. 



The peach orchards are planted in almost all cases one-fourth to apples — the apple 



