210 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



THE APPLE. 



From the cause set forth in the foregoing — the drought of 1867 — may we also account 

 mainly, for the failure of the apple crop of 1868. But before proceeding on this subject, 

 I will take the liberty to submit the opinions of some of my correspondents. 



1. From E. H. Skinner, of Marengo: — "My apple crop nearly a failure. Trees 

 bloomed moderately full. Think long continued cold rains destroyed the pollen." 



2. From Tyler McWhorter, of Whiteside county: — "Apple crop almost a failure. 

 My trees bloomed full, but they were blighted by the N. E. rain and wind storm." 



3. From A. C. Coe, of Port Byron : — " Apple crop about one-third that of the pre- 

 vious year ; trees bloomed poorly, except Wine Sap. Can't believe frost the cause of the 

 failure. Perhaps the drought in the latter part of the growing season of 1866 and 1S67, 

 aided by the Bark Louse, prevented the accumulation of sufficient vigor in the trees to 

 produce large crops." 



From A. Bryant, Jr., of Princeton : — "Our own apple crop ahout one-third what it 

 was last season. Think one cause of the failure was, in the very dry summer and fall of 

 the previous year. Trees did not have vitality enough to make a crop of fruit." 



It will he noticed that Mr. Skinner, and my cousin, of Whiteside county, attribute the 

 failure to the N. E. rain storm. They are doubtless partly right, regarding their own 

 locations, being both located in the trend of the heaviest force of the N. E. storm of 

 last spring. 



Mr. Coe and Bryant, both incline to the opinion, that the continued drought of the 

 latter part of the growing period, of the previous year was the main cause of the failure. 

 In the latter opinion we may safely concur. 



It will be noticed that neither of these correspondents attribute the failure to frost. 

 They are all too close observers to fall into this error. True, "Jack Frost " sometimes 

 nips our fruit in the bloom ; but he is very often suspected when not guilty of the 

 mischief. 



We must remember that nature is very lavish in blossoms. Generally, the tree puts 

 on ten times more blossoms than could possibly be sustained in fruit ; being a cyme or 

 little bouepjet of blossoms, on the end of every twig. This garland of gayety, and the 

 Mvretnessof perfume is only put on for the short period of fertilization. Soon the petals 

 fall and the sweet odors are gone. But still the tree is loaded with the incipient fruit 

 demanding immediate support. The tree sends forth nourishment to its utmost capacity 

 — all the little fruitlets that do not receive sufficient nourishment, fall to the ground. If 

 any is preserved, it is usually the central one, being most favorably situated to receive 

 nutriment from the twig. 



Thus, under the most favorable circumstances, nine-tenths of the fruit will dwindle 

 and fall for the want of nourishment. The tree cannot retain any more fruit than it 

 can supply with nutriment. The overplus is always slutted off. If the tree retains 

 only a thin crop, or none at all, it is because it is not in a condition to sustain it. It is 

 known that fruit is sometimes killed by frost, when the trees are in blooom ; hence, 

 people fall into the eommou error of attributing nearly all the failures of the fruit crop 

 to this, or to other atmospheric inlluences at that particular period. 



It is a fact of the most common observation, that trees are most inclined to cast off 

 all their fruit, that were exhausted with a full crop the previous year. So also, we 

 may reasonably conclude, that a long continued drouth, during the very period that 



