336 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



crops, but the extreme cold winters of the last few years caused a 

 failure of this crop and killed most of the trees. This year the pros- 

 pect for this fruit was good until the bloom was about shed, when we 

 had a cold spell which killed nearly all the fruit. The seedlings seem 

 to be the hardiest with Amsden, Crawford's early and late. 



PLUMS. 



Plums, until the advent of the curculio, seem to be in their native 

 clime. Our timber lands are full of wild plum bushes which would 

 bear a bountiful crop each year were it not for the hated and despised 

 curculio. As to the cultivated varieties the Wild Goose and Blue 

 Damson are in the lead, and bear large crops when means are taken to 

 exterminate the curculio pest. 



As to currants, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, 

 and the early Richmond and Morrello cherries, all do extremely well in 

 this county, and the planting and cultivation of them is on the increase 

 each year, and nowhere else have I seen such good success with these 

 fruits with so little care. 



APPLES. 



Apples in limited quantities have been raised in this county almost 

 from its settlement. The county is about one third timber land and the 

 other two-thirds prairie. 



The first settlements were in the timber along the streams, the 

 early settlers often planting seeds they had brought with them. The 

 prairie portion of the county was very sparsely settled up to the time 

 of our late civil war, consequently there were but few orchards planted 

 on the prairie until about the year 18G9 or '70, when emigration from 

 the East began to come in, and consequently to plant orchards, which 

 have gradually increased ever since until the apple has become one of 

 the important products of the county. Lying in the great corn belt of 

 Northwest Missouri, the tendency has been too much to the raising of 

 corn and hogs, but T am glad to say there is more interest being taken 

 in the raising of fruits. 



The varieties doing best for summer are Early Harvest, Red As- 

 trichan, Red June and Early Redstreak. Fall varieties: Rambo, 

 Famense, Maiden Blush and Fall Orange. Winter varieties that do 

 best are Ben Davis, Missouri Pippin, Minkler, Lawver, Jonathan Grime's 

 Golden and Jenneting. 



The county being crossed from southwest to northeast by the St. 

 Joseph and DesMoines R. R., and from northwest to southeast by the 

 Omaha and St. Louis branch of the Wabash R. R., give us excellent 



