EEPORT OF THE ORCHARD COMMITTEE. 131 



Did good every way. Louise Bonne tie Jersey and Duchesse are good as dwarfs. 

 The Church bears regular, good crops of the best and handsomest fruit; 

 healthy. Bloodgood bears well and sells high. Lawrence is very hardy, and 

 yields good crops of first-rate fruit. Winter Xelis and Beurre Gris d'Hiver prove 

 every way satisfactory as winter pears, and keep with as little trouble as apples. 

 The Flemish Beauty blights 25 percent; Vicar blights occasionally ; Madaline 

 and Onondaga blight 90 iiev cent here. A row of pears standing between two 

 rows of peaches were not blighted at all, though they are the same varieties 

 that are blighted in the orchard. Mr. Engle accounts for this on the supposi- 

 tion that the peach trees deprive the pears of a portion of the nourishment 

 they would take up through the roots, resting this again on the theory that 

 blight is caused by excessive absorption at the roots. The blight through the 

 •orchard came upon it after the entries had been made. 



The orchard of quinces numbered 200 of fair-sized trees. They were healthy, 

 and bearing very well indeed. This soil is not wiiat is termed quince soil, as a 

 heavy clay loam,, well drained, suits it best, but Mr. Engle gets abundant and 

 regular crops, and the fruit sells readily at good prices. 



These trees began to bear at three years from setting. At eight years they 

 yielded from one to three bushels per bush, which sell in Chicago or Detroit 

 for 12 a bushel. 



About 200 bushes may be planted on an acre. These quince trees or bushes 

 receive a handful of salt and a mulch of barn-yard manure annually. 



The success of Mr. Engle with the various fruits ought to awaken a general 

 interest in the growing of j)eachcs, especially in this vicinity, and the commit- 

 tee learned with pleasure that at or near Lawton, in the same county, there 

 are some excellent peach orchards and promising vineyards. 



Battle Creel'. 



On the 22d of September three members of the committee, namely: H. 

 Dale Adams, C. P. Avery, and Chas. Betts, recommenced work at Battle Creek. 

 The Delaware vineyard entered here belonged to the Messrs. Chilson Brothers, 

 and is situated on the '•' Marshall road," east of the town a mile or so. The sit- 

 uation of this vineyard and the condition of the vines, taken together, were a 

 surprise to the committee. The vines are planted on low ground, — so low that 

 most grape-growers would pronounce it unsuitable for the vine. The soil is a 

 peculiar admixture of sand and some clay, but the sand partakes strongly of 

 the nature of tine beach sand, such as is found along the southeastern 

 shores of Lake Michigan. In some places the subsoil is cla}', in others quick- 

 sand. But here are four acres of grapes in superb condition as to growth, 

 health of vine, and bearing. The three acres of Delawares which occupy 

 the lowest part of the ground are exceedingly thrifty, and heavily laden with 

 fruit of large and uniform size. They are mostly grown to stakes three feet 

 in height, through the top of which is inserted an inch pin twenty inches in 

 length, which serves to attach the main branches of the vine to. The balance 

 of the vines is trained upon a trellis two wires high. The fruit on the vines 

 trained to stakes was plainly larger than that grown on the trellised vines. 



What puzzled the committee exceedingly was to find vines so healthy and so 

 loaded with fruit of good size and fine flavor, on a soil apparently, and accord- 

 ing to our own ideas and notions respecting things of this sort, better adapted 

 to the growing of red-top grass than to grape-vines of the tender sorts. There 

 was no leaf-blight, no mildew. The cultivation consists of pruning in au- 



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