REPORTS OF COUNTY SOCIETIES. 345 



account of its good looks, I suppose, but regardless of quality. Some 

 varieties of pears are doing well, Flemish Beauty and Keiffer taking 

 the lead. 



Peaches gave a good crop this year, the most productive and sala- 

 ble being the Alexander, Crawford's Early, Crawford's Late, Stump 

 the World and Heath's Cling. Of plums, the Lombard is decidedly the 

 best yet tried here. There would be millions in it for some enterpris- 

 ing nurseryman if it was a new variety and the entire stock in his own 

 hands, but being an old sort, we do not generally hear it especially 

 mentioned. The Wild Goose plum is doing well here. The Marianna 

 plum tree has been quite extensively sold through this portion of the 

 State for several years past, but I have not seen any in bearing yet. 



The apple crop is about an average, the Ben Davis standing first 

 in point of productiveness, and selling as well as any in our local mar- 

 kets, though quite inferior to Rome Beauty and several other sorts that 

 are doing well here. 



In an assortment of one hundred apple trees, for home and market, 

 I would recommend the following list for this section : Summer — 2 

 Early Harvest, 3 Red Astrichan, 2 Yellow Transparent, 2 Duchess of 

 Oldenburg, 2 Red June, 1 Sweet June, 2 Autumn Strawberry (which is 

 late summer here), 2 Sops of Wine. Fall — 5 Maiden Blush, 5 Rambo, 

 5 Snow or Famuse, 5 Smiley's Fall Red. Winter — 25 Ben Davis, 10 

 Willow Twig, 15 Rome Beauty, 5 Jenneting, 5 Wagner, 4 Winesap. 



The Yellow Transparent or Russian Transparent is later than the 

 Early Harvest instead of earlier, as it was said to be when first intro- 

 duced here, but it is a fine fruit. The Lawver does very poorly on 

 prairie land, but quite well on bottom land. Our soil is a dark clay 

 loam with a very compact sub-soil. 



It is my opinion that growing apples for market would pay at least 

 as well here as any other pursuit, but there are as yet but few market 

 orchards in the county. For market, I think Ben Davis and Rome 

 Beauty would pay better than any others. These varieties, shipped by 

 the grower in straight car lots of either sort direct to the best mar- 

 ket attainable, or to the locality where they are to be consumed, would 

 beat growing corn for twenty-five cents per bushel, or beef for three 

 cents per pound, and the indications are that the time is coming when 

 Audrain will be one of the best apple producing counties in the State, 

 as it is now is one of the best as to the value of its products. 



Respectfully yours, 



B. F. Wyldb. 



