DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



97 



tlic most fiivorite spots for the production of good 

 fruit. This was to be expected. 



" Such is the patriot's boast, wliere'er we roam, 

 His first, best country, ever is at home." 

 My purpose, however, is not to find fault witii 

 the pretensions of others, but to put in a very mo- 

 dest claim in behalf of the valley of the Illinois, as 

 a fruit growing region. Not, perhaps, equal to the 

 classic Hudson or the shores of Erie, but as having 

 some claims to attention. You may not be aware 

 that the Illinois river is the centre of the great Wes- 

 tern basin. Although she is now the humble tri- 

 butary of the Mississippi, there is no doubt of the 

 fact tliat she once enjoyed the honor of conveying 

 the waters of the great northern lakes to the ocean. 

 The waters of the northern lakes, which were for a 

 long period discharged through the Illinois, have 

 cut out a deeper and wider valley than either the 

 Mississippi or Missouri, where those rivers pass 

 through the same geological structure. It is true 

 they all come together on the same level near St. 

 Louis ; but from this point upwards, the Mississippi 

 and Missouri are rapid streams, whereas the Illi- 

 nois for two hundred and fifty miles from its mouth 

 is almost as near a level as the Hudson from New- 

 York to Albany. To illustrate more plainly what 

 I mean, it may be remarked that the waters of the 

 Illinois at Hencpin are at least one hundred feet 

 loM-er than those of the Mississippi at the mouth of 

 Rock river, which is nearly opposite. This deep 

 cut of the Illinois, which never could have taken 

 place without the aid of the waters of the great 

 lakes, has disclosed and made accessible one of the 

 largest and best coal fields in the world. Besides, 

 it gives the country upon its borders a more tho- 

 rough drainage than is generally foimd in the 

 west. 



The table lands of this region, which are gene- 

 rally about two hundred and fifty feet higher than 

 the river, and comprise at least three-fourths of the 

 whole countiy, are more exempt from late spring 

 frosts than any other district with which I am ac- 

 quainted. There has not been, during the last 

 eleven years, a late spring frost hard enough to in- 

 jure the apple or the peach upon our high lands. 

 In the vallies we frequently suffer from this cause, 

 as they do every where else, except in the vicinity 

 of large bodies of water. But in the high open 

 prairies the winds come in contact with the surface 

 of the ground and keep back vegetation until the 

 ■whole atmosphere becomes warm — after which, 

 we seldom or never have frost in the spring. The 

 buds of the grape vine, which are as tender as any 

 other vegetable, have never been injured in the 

 least upon our high lands during the last eleven 

 years. And our cultivated vines, since they com- 

 menced bearing five years ago, have annually ma- 

 tured their fruit. Can our friends on the south 

 shore of Lake Erie or on the Hudson say as much ? 

 The growth of trees upon our rich, dry, warm 

 soil, exceeds anything of the kind to be found else- 

 where, and the wonder is that the winter does not 

 kill them. The cool, searching winds of autumn, 

 however, seem to ripen the young wood so well, 

 that we seldom suffer by what you have very ap- 

 propriately termed the "frozen sap blight." I 

 have seen a few cases of this disease, and have al- 



VoL. II. 13 



ways believed that the first freeze of autumn did all 

 the' mischief. At least it has never occurred with 

 us, except in those seasons, (1812-3 and 1845-6,) 

 when the chaiiiie from a high to a low temperature 

 was very sudden. We could hardly say that we 

 had an autumn in 1842 — for summer continued un- 

 til winter commenced. Tender varieties of the ap- 

 ple are sometimes injured by the bursting of the 

 Lark near the ground upon the first autumnal frost. 

 Bat these disorders oidy occur where ovor-generous 

 cultivation is practiced, and in the main our fruit 

 trees are thus far remarkabi}' healthy. The peach, 

 however, is quite uncertain in its bearing where the 

 trees flourish well — not from spring frosts, but from 

 the too great development of the fruit buds in au- 

 tumn. If the germs of the i)each remain alive un- 

 til mid-winter, we are sure of a crop. 



This part of the country has not been settled long 

 enough to produce much fruit, but it would be hard 

 to find a district where a greater number of beauti- 

 ful young orchards could be seen than in Peoria 

 county. With a few exceptions, our orchards are 

 all grafted fruit of the first quality ; and it has 

 been admitted by all who have had an opportunity 

 of making the comparison, that in size, beauty and 

 flavor, our fruits far exceed anything of the kind to 

 be found "down east." We, therefore, look for- 

 ward with confidence to the jieriod, not distant, 

 when all will acknowledge that we have the best 

 fruit district in the United States. Yours, truly. 

 Edson Harkness. Fruit Farm, Peoria Co., III. 



[It is one of the best proofs of the great general 

 fertility and adaptation of our country to horticultural 

 pursuits, this hearty championship for each favorite 

 locality which our corresj)ondents (not to mention 

 ourselves) exhibit in their articles from so many 

 dilferent points of the compass. We sincerely hope 

 to see these natural advantages, great as they are, 

 all thoroughly put to the trial by the most skilful 

 and scientific cultivation. — Ed.] 



New Seedling CHERRY.^-Dcar Sir : Accom- 

 panying this note I forward to you a few cherries, 

 part of the produce of a tree, the seed of which I 

 planted seven years since. I have concluded to 

 call it Wendell's Mottled Bigarreau Cherry — it be- 

 ing of true Bigarreau character and beautifully 

 mottled — as you will perceive, The stones which 

 I planted were from the fruit of the large white Bi* 

 garreau grown in a garden of this city, which has 

 a collection of the finer cherries in it. The tree is 

 of upright growth, quite thrifty, and an early bear- 

 er, as this is the third season it has fruited ; the 

 first year it bore three cherries, last year about half 

 a dozen, and this year it has borne about a quart. 

 I also send you a branch of the tree, with the foli* 

 age. The fruit was exhibited at the first ex- 

 hibition of our new Horticultural Society— the Al- 

 bany and Rensselaer — on the 3d inst. At the same 

 exhibition I also presented another seedling cher-< 

 ry of my own raising, of Bigarreau character, and 

 very fine flavor, but of size and appearance, inferior 

 to the one I send you ; I call it the Carnation Bi- 

 garreau, as it is of a carnation colour. I have pre- 

 sented specimens of it to Mr. Howard, of the Cul- 

 tivator, who will probably notice it in that journal. 

 Yours, very truly. Herman Wendell. Albany. 



