308 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



DISCUSSIO?^. 



Secretary Dunlap — Everyone here is a horticalturist or a con- 

 sumer of horticultural products. I will call your attention to some- 

 thing for you to think about. I noticed it in going about the state of 

 Illinois last fall. I found some apples very much inferior to others in 

 quality. In some orchards the apples were only half-size. In other 

 orchards the outside rows had nice apples, while the inside trees bore 

 very inferior fruit. In early days shelter belts were considered neces- 

 sary. My father planted a shelter-belt of soft maple about two rods 

 in width. There was never any fruit upon those trees to amount to 

 anything. Last year I saw an orchard with protection, but with a 

 break through which the wind swept. The protected part had no fruit 

 while the open part had plenty. Close planting will make your orchard 

 a continuous shelter. Such orchards don't have proper air drainage.^ 

 I know a man in Illinois who set his trees Id feet apart each way. I 

 think he promised to thin them out when they began to get too thick^ 

 though he never did it. It is like the promises of politicians before 

 election day. I think it is better to set your trees as far apart as you 

 wish them to be when they are 25 years old. 



I invite you to attend the meeting of the Illinois society, between 

 Christmas and New Years' day. 



Mr. Reed of Wisconsin — I think it would be a good thing if those 

 persons who read papers before such associations as this would bring 

 duplicate copies, for the reporters of the press are always glad to get 

 them and their publication would give you enough free advertising to 

 pay you for making the copies. 



THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE OZARK HILLS, AS REGARDS 

 THEIR ADAPTATIOI^T TO SUCCESSFUL FRUIT 



CULTURE. 



The Ozark region is not strictly speaking a mountainous country ; 

 the Ozark mountains, so called, being in general merely an elevated 

 plateau, in fact wanting most of the district characteristics that distin- 

 guish real mountains. The table lands of the Ozark rarely exceed 1,600 

 in heighth. These elevated lands situated ia Southwest Missouri and 

 Northwest Arkansas may be estimated to embrace an area of about 

 40,000 square mile. More than one-third of this area, at least 10,000,000 

 acres remain unimproved, producing little revenue to the State and 

 less to the owner. 



