Winter Meeting. i8i 



few years since the Elberta was a chance seedHng. The original tree 

 was probably as tender in bud as any of its descendants. If it had been 

 transplanted to many of our orchards it would probably have yielded a 

 crop once in ten years, while some of our seedlings, equal to it in some 

 respects, bear a crop nine years in ten. This is no special reflection on 

 Southern and Eastern peaches ; other fruits fare no better. There are 

 about i,ooo varieties of apples catalogued; yet we would not risk a dozen 

 of them in a commercial orchard. Varieties of sterling worth at the 

 East, as Baldwins, Famuse, Russets, Greenings, are worthless in Mis- 

 souri, while our Ben Davis, Jonathan, Grimes Golden and York Imperial 

 may be as useless there. Berries succeeding in one section are often a 

 total failure in another. The habit of ordering stock from highly colored 

 catalogues is as vicious as speculating on Wall street. Georgia, Iowa, 

 Connecticut and California have their charms, but Missourians should 

 stand up for their own state. Before the days of flashy catalogues, our 

 old settlers had peaches every year. Like the prodigal, we left our 

 father's house for other lands. We have tried the husks, but now are 

 coming back to find enough and to spare still growing on the old farm. 



Don't allow prejudice to blind us to facts. Even if a million seed- 

 lings are worthless, we may find one of royal quality ; let us separate and 

 propagate it. Over a bushel of apple seed was planted by Mr. Gideon, 

 in Minnesota without results. For ten years he kept on sowing more, 

 and at last grew one splendid apple — the Wealthy. This was sufficient 

 reward for a thousand failures. Weir raised a million soft maples to 

 get one cut-leaf- 



But happily we are not left to grope in the dark or wait for new 

 productions. Nature has already given us a starting point. There are 

 many very fine seedlings that bear annual crops. These await our selec- 

 tion and adoption into the horticultural family of approved fruits. Dur- 

 ing the past year I have examined thousands of bearing trees, and from 

 Among them selected about ten very fine, heavy bearing, healthy, higfh 

 flavored luscious beauties, worthy of any orchard. In size many are 

 larger than those called Elberta shipped from Arkansas. They were 

 white, cream, yellow and red. They ripened from July to October. 

 Many measured ii inches around, weighing 14 1-2 ounces. They were 

 free from rot and some of the trees yielded five bushels. In beauty they 

 were a study for an artist. As to shipping quality, I don't know — and 

 don't care, as I am working not in the interest of commerce, but in the 

 interest of the home, where I hope to see every child gathering big 

 peaches, in his own dooryard. However, some of the late varieties 

 might have been shoveled into freight cars like turnips, while others 

 were tender as French candy. 



