94 Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



water in a wet season. In such places they will die sooner or later. 

 There have probably been as many trees of other varieties planted, 

 but we find only one here and there, yielding a small quantity of 

 fruit very occa'sionally, except the English Morello, which seems to 

 do nearly as well as the Richmond. Some newer kinds, which we 

 hope Avil] divide the honors with, if not supersede these, have not 

 been fruited much yet. 



Peaches we have not had a crop of for three years, while 

 previously we had them four years in succession, and what trees are 

 now left, after three test winters, naturally short lived and decayed, can 

 not be expected to yield much next year, even if we should have no 

 winter at all. Hence this is being voted "^ no country for peaches," 

 although we have seen them pay very well ; very seldom seen any 

 plantings that did not pay, and I hope yet to prove personally by 

 1500 trees, now two and three years old, that they do pay. 



Of pears we never did have a crop, except a few occasional trees 

 that escaped the blight. We have hopes that the KeifPer may prove 

 as good as it now promises. 



Plums are hardly worth mention, because there have been but 

 few planted of the Wild Goose class. Occasionally a Damson bears 

 very fully. 



Grapes were j)robably not much over half a crop, but this is 

 nearly that much better than some places I hear of near the great 

 rivers. I do not remember a nearer failure here. 



Strawberries were a full crop, wherever there were any planted 

 and attended to. 



Same of raspberries and blackberries. We are just beginning 

 to grow something over half what this town would consume, while 

 most towns around us have hardly discovered their wants yet. 



Upon the whole, I think this country well adapted to fruit 

 growing, if we except peaches. But I do not expect to see it ad- 

 vancing much as a fruit country, because we have not the men cal- 

 culated to make it much of a success. I cannot call to mind a 

 single man in my acquaintance who makes fruit growing on any 

 but a very small scale an exclusive business. The few who have 

 planted what might be termed large orchards, in connection with 

 farming, are not putting much study or labor on them, and cannot 

 be expected to make a perfect success of them. Some succeed 

 poorly enough in growing corn, but if they knew no more about 

 that, and tried as little to find out, as they do about an orchard, we 

 would not have "hog and hominy."' 



While considering the prospects of fruit for millions, it may 



