REPORTS OF COUNTY SOCIETIES. 375 



VERNON COUNTY. 



The Vernon county Horticultural society has held monthly meet- 

 ings during the past year, which have been uniformly interesting and 

 instructive, and as a rule well attended. After midsummer the meet- 

 ings were held at the homes of various of the members, and through 

 the efforts of the lady members, who but lately have become an honor- 

 ary and esteemed addition to our ranks, we were treated to a regular 

 feast of good things. The latter feature, however, I would not advise 

 general adoption, because many members, among whom I may mention 

 brothers Page and Ambrose, not having as much self-control as they 

 might have, became too full for utterance, so to speak, and this very se- 

 riously affected our discussion. 



Our membership, aside from the " commissary department," has 

 increased three-fold, at least. Our acreage planted to fruit, has increased 

 fully twenty-five per cent. The ratio of small fruits will show even 

 much greater increase. Have had a good yield all along the line. Ap- 

 ples not up to an average crop, and quality inferior. Peaches, an ex- 

 cessive crop of inferior fruit, mostly caused by trees being overladen, 

 poorly cultivated and not trimmed at all. Plums, not a full crop, mostly 

 Wild Goose grown, plenty of curculio ; the latter we treat with all the 

 hospitality that our community has become noted for; we give him the 

 best we have and we find him a hungry guest. The Damson plum ap- 

 pears to do well when planted on its own roots. The Wild Goose does 

 best on the peach stock. The Mariana plum I would pronounce a stu- 

 pendous humbug; about the most so that was ever perpetrated on a 

 confiding people. Next to this, stands close up, the Prunus Simoni 

 plum, Professor Budd, of Iowa, to the contrary, notwithstanding. 



Of cherries, the Morello family only can be rocommended of these 

 The Richmond, Montmorency and English Morello are the leading vari- 

 eties grown, the English Morello the most profitable. Our cherries are 

 the most uniformly certain and productive of any fruit grown, but until 

 lately have not been planted for market. Very few pears grown, not 

 near enough to supply home demand. Of those planted, the Duchess 

 has given the best satisfaction, and of this variety we claim we have 

 grown the largest specimen ever heard of, being no less than one pound 

 eleven and one-half ounces. Can readily substantiate this by responsi- 

 ble parties who weighed it. The Keiffer pear, which is but just coming 

 into bearing with us, promises to become the Ben Davis among pears' 

 being practically blight-proof and excessively productive, trees six 

 vears from planting yielding two and one-third bushels, of a good, 



