olO TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



Churchill of Troy, mentions in a letter to the Alton Horticultural Society, still other 

 old orchards, but does not give any dates. " One on Section 12, Township 3, north 

 range 8 west, formerly owned, and probably planted by the late Robert Seybold — now 

 owned by F. Kohler; another on Section 4 township 3 north range 7 west, formerly 

 owned by Titus Graggnow owned by John C. Rigging. Another, on Section 18, township 

 3, north range 7 west, formerly owned by the late Robert McMahan, Esq. Another in 

 township 3 north range 9 west, near the site of the old mill, consecutively known as 

 Robb's, Wilt's and Hertzog's." 



I know of few grafted trees being planted before 1820. A tree of the Lady apple was 

 planted in 1819 on the farm afterwards owned by D. A. Lanterman in Section 19 of 

 township 5 north range 8. He found peaches on the place, including a large white cling. 



Solomon Prewitt set out in 1820 about 40 trees grown from the seed of a yellow apple 

 brought up from the French settlements below, and hawked about the thinly peopled 

 country. Six or eight of these trees produced very good fruit. 



Robert Collet and Emanuel J. West planted orchards of grafted apples, about the year 

 1820 in Sections 6 and 7 of townships 5 and 8 ; but as they did not remain in the State, 

 and their farms were committed to the tender mercies of tenants, few of the trees sur- 

 vive to this day. These trees of Mr. Collet, and probably those of Mr. West, were from 

 Burlington, New Jersey, and comprised some choice varieties among which were Lady 

 apples. 



Gershom Flagg in the spring of 1822, planted an orchard of 300 seedling trees on his 

 farm on Section 3, of township 5, 8, and in the autumn of the same year, about 200 

 grafted trees, comprising Kirkbridge White, Rambo, Pryor's Red, Pennock, Wine or 

 Pennsylvania Red Streak, Newtown Pippin, Rawle's Janet, Hoope's Winter Pearmain, 

 Red Pippin, Milam, Blackburn, and Maryland Red Streak. These were from the nur- 

 sery of John Smith of Greenville, Bond county. Of this nursery, I add the account 

 given by J. M. Smith ; Gardener's Monthly, Vol. 3, p. 172. 



" The first nursery for the growth and sale of fruit trees, as far as I have been able to 

 ascertain, was commenced in this county (Bond) in the year 1818 by my father, John 

 Smith. He planted seeds in the fall of that year, and I believe brought some apple 

 seedlings and scions from Kentucky, which he grafted that winter. He obtained the 

 stock of his nursery, of one George Heikes, an emigrant from Pennsylvania to Ken- 

 tucky, and the varieties of apples grown and planted for many years were some twenty 

 of the older Pennsylvania apples. Among these stand prominent the Pennock — here 

 called Big Romanite, Rambo, Newtown Pippin, Pryor's Red, Old Winter Pearmain 

 (called here "Hoop's), Pennsylvania Red Streak, Rawle's Janet, Romanite, Limbertwig, 

 etc., etc. Of this orchard, which I now own, a part of the grafted trees only, remain ; 

 the seedling trees having been grubbed up as not bringing forth good fruit. The Pryor's 

 Red, Newtown Pippin, Kirkridge White and Pennock, endure the best. 



Masson, a French Swiss, who came to this county not far from 1820, started a small 

 nursery on the farm of Mr. Taleon, on Section 22 of township 5, 8, whence he removed 

 to the farm of Mr. Collet, about 1825, and thence to the farm now owned by Thomas 

 Jones in Section 8, of the same township in 1832. The " Western Ploughboy," an agri- 

 cultural paper published at Edwardsville, during the year 1831, contains an advertise- 

 ment of the nursery stock of Collet and Masson, which, as the oldest document of the 

 kind in the State, so far as I know, I copy at length : 



