REPORTS OF COUNTY SOCIETIES 



AND 



COU1TTT BEPOETS. 



GBEENE COUNTY. 



By request of Secretary Goodman, of the State Hoticultural soci- 

 ety, to make a report of the fruit interest of Greene county, I will try,, 

 if I can, having had hardly the necessary time to prepare a full and 

 detailed report, such as should be made to be of any great benefit. 

 Greene county, as a fruit producing region, stands in the front ranks 

 in Southwest Missouri, and lam almost tempted to say in the whole 

 State, for from this county, were repeatedly shown at various exhibi- 

 tions, apples which did the county credit, especially last fall at St. 

 Louis Exposition show, and even there we could have done better, had 

 we known what we know now. First and foremost of the fruits of this 

 county stand the apple, and we have in this county an abundance of 

 lands well adapted for the production of apple orchards. In the last 

 12 or 1G years a number of enterprising men have engaged in the raising 

 of apples as a business, and they have fairly well succeeded. Of course 

 a good many mistakes were made, especially in the selection of varie- 

 ties. By our mistakes and partial failures we learn good lessons. The 

 growing of apples in this county is on a steady increase, and more care 

 and attention is given to orchards planted. Every spring good-sized, 

 new plantations are made, mainly of Ben Davis, Willow Twigs, Hunts- 

 man, Grimes' Golden, Jonathan and a few others of well-approved 

 kind. ]S"ot having a correct list of the number of acres planted with 

 apples, but it is fairly safe to say that the number would be 2,000 acres 

 in the county. Generally the orchards are in fair condition, for the 

 planters begin to understand that it pays to cultivate, and to be suc- 

 cessful he must cultivate well ; it is also true there are a number of 

 orchards in rather a deplorable condition, and the product of such is 

 accordingly. It is a mistake to plant large orchards by single individ- 



