PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUMMER MEETING. 55 



of soil, which we have for all fruits, and that to a large extent, for many 

 of you are well aware of our grand location. But within this limited 

 paper I will try to interest you as to my own experience and the observa- 

 tion of others in the way of successful and profitable fruitgrowing in 

 Oceana county. 



In the first place, I wish to make particular mention of the great suc- 

 cess with which we meet in growing all the varieties of excellent fruit, 

 from the wild huckleberry or Juneberry up to the king of all fruits, the 

 apple, as they all succeeded wonderfully in point of growth and product- 

 iveness. All the small fruits, including the strawberry, raspberry, cur- 

 rant, gooseberry, and grape, do well and are at home with us. More 

 especially the raspberry, currant, and gooseberry are " just immense " in 

 any favorable season. But I will not take up your time and dwell longer 

 on the culture of small fruits. 



You are perhaps nearly all waiting to hear something said about the 

 staple industry, the culture of the peach and plum, in this the banner 

 section of country for the growth of these superb fruits. We claim Oceana 

 county has no rival in our own state, nor anywhere in the northwest, in 

 this respect. At least it is so conceded by many prominent fruitgrowers. 

 My experience and observation of growing fruit dates back to the seven- 

 ties, while quite young in the matter of fruitgrowing. Bearing peach or 

 plum orchards, with us, in those days, were rather a rarity, and quite a 

 curiosity. Only a very few trees or orchards, to my certain knowledge, 

 could be seen (now and then a few cherry trees and apple orchards) 

 except that my old friend, Mr. Erwin Stanhope, had a fruit garden and 

 largest and best peach orchard in Oceana county, and he still holds his 

 reputation as to a fine and profitable orchard of peaches and plums. To 

 him the writer owes many favors and compliments as to early encourage- 

 ment and instruction as to fruitgrowing being above all other choice for 

 tillers of the soil, for pleasure and profit. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF IT. 



About the year 1872, the writer planted on the old Gebhart fruit farm, 

 six Lombard, and six Blue Damson plum trees; also five Hale's Early and 

 two Early Crawford peach trees which are nearly all alive and bearing 

 fruit to this day, and have done so for eighteen years in succession. 

 Several of the Lombard plum and Hale's peaches are dead and gone. In 

 the winter of 1874-' 75 many peach trees all over the country were frozen 

 or killed dead to the ground. But the young Hale's Early peach trees, 

 planted in the woods, bore a few peaches the following summer of 1875, 

 after the severe and cold winter. Soon after, or about 1876 to '79, I 

 began to propagate and set a few trees, with poor success in the first 

 attempt to grow the trees. I set out about twenty-five peaches, all of the 

 Hale's and Early York varieties; and when the trees were five years of age 

 they bore twenty-two bushels of good, salable fruit, which then netted in 

 the Milwaukee market $4 per bushel, or $88 for the first crop of peaches 

 from the twenty-two trees. These fabulous prices for early fruit, and the 

 shipping in here of Alexanders, which sold at $1.25 to $1.50 per peck 

 basket, set enthusiasm wild to engage at once in the growing of the early 

 peaches and plums; and soon many trees were set by myself and others, of 

 all the early clingstone varieties of peach, such as Amsden, Alexander, 

 Beatrice, Hale's, etc.; for in those days late peaches did not ripen well, and 



