668 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Wragg have borne two or three fair crops. They are a late cherry, heavy 

 and early bearers but only medium fruit and ripen unevenly. The large 

 Mount Morancey is a fine cherry — large, juicy and not strong, not so early 

 nor profuse a bearer but the best market cherry I know of for this local- 

 ity. The Early Richmond is a profuse bearer but short lived. The apples 

 have borne no fruit as yet and have caused me more trouble from borers 

 and other causes than any of the other trees. I have cultivated the 

 orchard every year and consider that the use of the ground has paid an 

 expenses of cultivation, planting and replating, and more too. From this 

 on I do not expect to plant crops among the trees but do expect to keep 

 up cultivation and shall probably use a disk for general cultivation. Now 

 as to the last and profits. I have about 1400 trees all told and they have 

 cost me about $150, making a total of land and trees of $1,150. I have 

 used and sold in the last three years fruit worth probably $200 and the 

 land is now well worth $2,500 or a profit of $1,550. The twenty acres of 

 land without the orchard would probably sell for $1,200, which would leave 

 me as an increase on the orchard alone of $1,300. I believe if any farmer 

 will select five to ten acres of good, well drained land and plant it to an 

 orchard and then cultivate, replant and care for it that It will not only 

 be a source of profit but that it would keep many a family on the old 

 homestead when they were too old to work on the farm. By the time a 

 man has cultivated, pruned and cared for an orchard for ten years he 

 becomes so attached to it that town would have few attractions for him 

 and he would not care to turn it over to the tender mercies of the average 

 tenant, or his own son for that matter, and I further believe that a good 

 five-acre orchard will increase the value of almost any quarter section of 

 Adams county land from $1,000 to $2,000 in value. 



The orchard should be fenced by itself and have the fence pig tight 

 at the bottom. Pigs and fowls will not injure an orchard and are of great 

 benefit in destroying the wormy and injured fruit which drops from the 

 trees. 



HORTICULTURE. 



F. C. Reese, before Adams County Institute. 



The subject assigned me is "Horticulture," but as this subject is too 

 broad to be covered by a single paper, and as I have not been confined to 

 any particular branch of horticulture I have chosen for my subject, "The 

 Evergreen, Its Propagation and Growth." I will try and not take up too 

 much of your time in the discussion of this subject, as I belie** you will 

 derive more benefit in taking up the time in open discussions upon the 

 various subjects to come before this meeting. 



God in His goodness has given us many kinds of useful and beautiful 

 trees for our eomfort, but what has He given us more beautiful than the 

 evergreen. They are adapted to every climate, from the sunny south to 

 the Dakotas on the north, where the thermometer runs from 30 to 50 de- 



