344 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the time, on apples one-fourth and plums the same— all on the account 

 of cold winters. Whenever the thermometer gets fifteen below zero, 

 peaches will all be killed in the bud, and a good portion of the apples. 

 There are some varieties of northern apples will stand those sudden 

 changes here. We have splendid soil here for fruit trees, such as apples, 

 plums and cherries. The sweet cherry will not stand the winter here. 

 Pears and quinces blight so that they cannot be raised for a profit. We 

 can raise strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, and, in fact, all 

 kinds of berries that will stand this climate. The untiring vigilence is 

 the price of good crops; with that we have good crops of all the berry 

 tribe. We have two classes of soil here, one is early and the other is 

 late. Fruit grown on early ground is in danger of late frost, but it will 

 produce the most fruit. Grape is a failure here, both tame as well as 

 wild. There is an insect here stings them a little while after they shed 

 the bloom, and they turn black and fall off the vine ; and all the chance 

 for us to have grapes is to tie up the bunches in paper sacks. Some years 

 the insects do not come in such quantities to kill all. The curculio 

 stings the plum and some kinds of apples. We have a small insect 

 that came to my notice some three years ago, about the size of the 

 Buffalo gnat, and of yellowish gray color. It stings the bloom before it 

 opens and stings the buds as they begin to form leaves, and they die. 

 The insect is worse on pear trees and Kelsy Japan plum. The late 

 frost I suppose killed them last spring, as they did but very little 

 damage. We have the codling moth and the gouger also, but with all 

 these drawbacks, we can raise good apples and some varieties of plums, 

 and I think in the main we have a good fruit country. J. H. 



AUDKAIN COUNTY. 



Benton City, Dec. 2, 1889. 

 L. A. Goodman, /Secretary Missouri Horticultural Society, Westport, Mo.: 



Dear Sir: In reply to your request that I send you a report in 

 regard to fruit-growing, its interests, etc., I will say: Audrain county 

 is especially adapted to the production of grain, grass and live stock, 

 and these pursuits occupy the attention of our people too much to the 

 exclusion of horticulture, though this county is equally well adapted 

 to the growing of fruit. 



The small fruits, especially strawberries, are grown now more than 

 formerly, so that the home demand is mostly supplied by the home- 

 grown, except some California fruits, which seem to go everywhere on 



