70 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



or gravel and clay mixed, to a heavy clay interspersed with muck swamps, 

 all covered with the finest of heavy pine and hemlock; or, on the clay 

 land, hardwood timber. 



As the lumbering interests drew away toward the north, more attention 

 was given to farming, and orchards were planted which seemed to thrive 

 very well and to indicate that at least some portion of the country would 

 be profitable for fruit. But it was soon demonstrated that the hardwood 

 lands were best adapted to its growth, unless of a heavy clay nature; and, 

 as most of them were of that character, there was little hope for very- 

 much fruit. The trees had an unhealthy appearance, the bark was cov- 

 ered with scale louse, peach trees were killed, by the cold winters, as was 

 supposed, and the outlook was discouraging. The main supply of fruit 

 for the city of Port Huron came from the well drained ridge of gravely 

 land of the north part of Macomb county, which seemed to be the north- 

 ern limit. 



The climatic conditions of the east and west shores are as different as 

 those of England and France. The waters of lake Michigan are fed by 

 warmer streams and flow northward, while Huron's waters are largely fed 

 from Superior and flow southward, and are always cold; and this is why 

 its shores are so popular as a retreat from the summer's heat. 



We have always looked with envy at our more fortunate neighbors on the 

 other shore, with their orchards, vineyards, and gardens. For years it was 

 my ambition to own a small piece of land in that favored locality, which I 

 could plant to fruit-trees, and many were the day-dreams in which I 

 indulged — never, however, destined to realize. 



The soil of St. Clair county is diversified, as I said before, and a large 

 portion of it is certainly poorly adapted to fruit culture. The cold quick- 

 sand seems to invite late frosts in the spring and early frosts in fall; but 

 we find that these same cold soils, when deeply underdrained, make the 

 very best that we have for fruits of all kinds, large and small, and for truck 

 gardening. They seem to be especially adapted to the growth and pro- 

 ductiveness of pears and plums, and of late large peach orchards have 

 been planted on the drier ridges of sand or of gravel and clay loam. 



One man, who is a "crank" on draining quicksand land (so considered 

 by his neighbors, at least) putting his tile from six to eight feet deep, 

 took seventy-five bushels of Lombard plums from twenty-four trees three 

 and one half years from setting, and at the same time his trees made a 

 good, long growth. 



The cultivated varieties of cherry have not proved a success in St. Clair 

 county, nor in any part of the district of which I shall speak. Only the 

 natives have seemed to thrive and, at least half of the time, produce good 

 crops. I have in my yard a few Empress Eugenie and Late Duke that 

 have not failed to give us some fruit every year, even when the natives fail, 

 and heavy crops nearly every year — at least two out of three. 



We have been considered beyond the peach line, but some few trees 

 have persisted in living and producing fruit for years, in spite of all of the 

 vicissitudes of our climate. As we begin to understand the wants of the 

 peach, and the most hardy varieties, we have planted orchards that have 

 proved successful, so much so that a good many thousand peach trees were 

 set last spring. Our chief want is a snow covering for winter. We have 

 not had snow enough at Port Huron in three years to give us two weeks' 

 sleighing all put together. 



The apple crop was a complete failure throughout the county, and south 



