90 Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



growth, making often large round figures on the early probable 

 annual income when his figures were beginning to need enlarging 

 to fit his increasing expectations. 



Then came that fatal frost or freeze in 1880 and his low lands 

 got cold first and coldest of all, and bis beautiful large trees, in 

 their succulent, unripe state, froze^ all, and froze to death like so 

 many summer vegetables. He took down his figures which seemed 

 almost ready to go into his bank account, took up his trees and quit 

 the fruit business in disgust. 



This, while a severe case, is but one of many — some not so bad 

 — none could be worse. While nearly ctll orchards on similar land 

 were killed at this same time — many also of our orchards on Mgh, 

 nice situations suffered terribly — and this was much — and then less 

 as some were from soil, slope or late cultivation less mature than 

 others of same varieties. Let me state in actual figures just how it 

 was : 1 



The autumn of 1880 was one of those warm seasons full of 

 unusual moisture that caused an unusually late growth in our 

 orchards and nurseries in Southwest Missouri, and while our people 

 were all rejoicing in this nice weather, not knowing its danger, a 

 most sudden wave of cold came dov/n upon us— sinking the tem- 

 perature below zero on the 16th of November and there was a snow 

 of six inches — on the 17th it was twenty degrees below zero. The 

 market gardeners lost their vegetables and we lost our trees. Could 

 anything be worse? 



The orchards, excepting those most protected by surroundings 

 and those most neglected, in the way of such cultivation as to cause 

 late growth, were just about fifty per cent, killed and the balance 

 left in such an unsatisfactory shape, with such slow, unusual 

 symptoms that many of the best doctors in horticulture shook their 

 heads when asked to feel the pulse of our sick orchards. This 

 stroke of paralysis has not killed all the trees in our orchards, nor 

 paralyzed our efforts. Nothwithstanding our fruit is not fine, so 

 satisfactory as before nor our crops so large as we expected, I am 

 glad to tell 3^ou that our orchards, as they are, pay their owners. 

 Car loads are shipped almost daily even now to Memphis and other 

 markets at paying prices and the demand at the nurseries for trees, 

 especially Ben Davis for orchard planting for profit, was never so 

 large before. 



Peach orchards are also being largely, or numerously planted 

 for shipping and evaporation. The cold of 1880 killed the peach 



