12 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that would eat out the buds in the night and thus destroy the vitality of 

 the trees. Orchards over this entire territory produce as fine apples, 

 pears, and plums as can be found in any part of the country. Of cherries, 

 only the Dukes and Morellos succeed. The Heart cherries last but a few 

 years and then go. Of the thousands of trees brought into this vicinity, 

 by agents who either did not know anj^ better or did not care, not a dozen 

 have succeeded; and just here let me say it is hard to estimate the loss to 

 the country caused by the worthless trash that these agents have crowded 

 upon the people. It would amount to thousands of dollars— yes, here in 

 this city alone it amounts to hundreds of dollars every year. 



In the early days of the settlement of the country, as in other new 

 places, the peach seemed at home; but later the trees were killed, either by 

 cold or neglect, till we were supposed to be outside the peach belt of the 

 country. But more recently several energetic men have had more faith 

 in the peach, and planted several hundred trees each, and they have had 

 their reward in several fine crops of peaches that have made their 

 orchards famous. 



PEACHES ARE POSSIBLE. 



Lands for peaches need to be thoroughly underdrained. The interme- 

 diate wet sand lands, so far, where deeply underdrained, have proved to be 

 well adapted to the growth of pears and plums, and particularly of small 

 fruits. But this is not the point that I wish to establish — it will be 

 admitted by all. It is the fact that peach trees maj' be grown on the 

 sandy ridges along the lake shore, and that with success. I have brought 

 here samples of the sand and gravel taken from these ridges, the one taken 

 from the surface and the other from two feet below. You will see that 

 this is a very poor-looking soil, with a still poorer bottom; and had we 

 gone down two feet further we would have found clean gravel and sand. 



Now, here I wish to show you limbs taken from three peach trees which 

 I helped to plant before the war, either in the spring of 1858 or '59. The 

 ground where these trees stand, in all seven or eight in number, has been 

 open to commons the past twelve years, subject to the depredation of cattle 

 and hogs and men; and yet there they stand, loaded with fruit buds, and 

 ready to do their part in supplying the world with fruit, notwithstanding 

 they have stood in these drifting sands for thirty-four years, and have 

 borne many fine crops of peaches. Here, again, I have a branch taken 

 from the only survivor of an orchard of apples and peaches set twenty-two 

 years ago. The rest were destroyed by cattle and this one broken down. 

 The present tree came from the natural root below the bud. The only 

 care and trimming it has ever had was done by the cattle, and yet it is a 

 good-size tree and has had a number of crops, particularly in the last two 

 years. The third sample is from an orchard of three trees which I set out 

 last spring in this same sandy land, and where I shall set 2,000 more so 

 fast as the ground can be prepared. It is of the Barnard variety and came 

 from the shores of lake Michigan. 



Now, I submit to this society the question, can we grow peaches on this 

 sandy landV 



As regards the climate, I have seen the thermometer stand at thirty-two 

 degrees below zero, within the life of the first two samples of trees: and I 

 will herewith show you the record of the lowest range of the thermometer 

 since the establishment of a weather station in this city — that is, since 



