486 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



the territory known as the "Fruit Belt,"ofMicbigan,for the year 1871, 

 is given as follows : 



Twenty-seven thousand eight hundred and fifty-uiue peach-trees ; 7,187 apple-trees ; 

 GOO pear-trees; (Mr. H. Beckwith has a quince orchard of 200 trees;) 24,232 grape- 

 vines. Product— 38,592 baskets of peaches ; 220,308 pounds of grapes, or 110 tons; 

 1,586 bushels of apples; 19,201 quarts of berries. Net proceeds, including pears and 

 quinces, .§31,789.33. 



Large yields of fruit are given by fruit-growers in the neighborhood 

 of Saint Joseph. The "Cincinnati Orchard," containing 60 acres of 

 l)each-trees, netted $17,000. Z. D. Nickerson, in 1808, from 480 trees, 

 took 3,100 baskets ; in 1869, 3,500 baskets. Mrs. A. K Kelly, in 1869, 

 from 900 trees, five years old, took 5,000 baskets. A . E. S'owlen, in 1809, 

 from 3,000 trees, took 10,000 baskets. N. D. Brown, from 20 acres of 

 fruit, of all kinds, in three years, netted $14,000. Strawberries, if pro- 

 perly cultivated, net from $200 to $400 per acre. 



A committee of the Union Farmers' Club, of Eomeo, recommend the 

 following varieties of apples for general cultivation : Summer — Codling, 

 Red Astrachan, and Sweet Bough ; Autumn — Farneuse, Holland Pippin, 

 and Porter ; Winter — Rhode Island Greening, Canada Red, Baldwin, 

 Northern Spy, Esopus Spitzenberg. 



Professor Kedzie, of the Michigan State Agricultural College, contri- 

 butes a paper on yellows in peaches. While experiments have not yet 

 fully demonstrated the fact, he is, nevertheless, inclined to the belief 

 that the disease is caused by fungoid growth. He states that digging a 

 shallow trench around the tree, and filling it with boiling water, will 

 soon cause the disease to disappear. He has seen trees which were 

 yellow for years soon become green after this treatment. A heavy 

 dose of potash will also destroy the parasite. Still another remedy is 

 given, that of filling the trench with ashes and pouring boiling water 

 over it. This remedy has proved very successful in the peach-orchards 

 of Benton Harbor. 



MISSOLTII. 



The seventh annual report (1871) of the Missouri State Board of Ag- 

 riculture contains 677 pages, and is of more than usual interest. In ad- 

 dition to the usual business transactions of the board, the report gives 

 the proceedings of the State Horticultural Society, a number of essays 

 and debates on interesting topics, reports from numerous county and 

 district associations, proceedings of the fifth annual meeting of the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley Grape-growers' Association, the report of Mr. Charles V. 

 Riley, State entomologist, a list of the premiums offered and awarded 

 at the eleventh annual fair of the Saint Louis Agricultural and Mechan- 

 ical Association, &c. 



The report of the secretary gives evidence of rapid advancement 

 in the agricultural and horticultural interests of the State, and of grati- 

 fying progress in the productive industries of the people generally. The 

 report of the entomologist is copiously illustrated, and is replete with 

 matter of an instructive and valuable character. In his introductory re- 

 marks the secretary says : 



All that is wanted to elevate Missouri to the queenly rank she is destined to occupy 

 among her sisterhood of States, is to develop tbe wonderful resources Providence has 

 so bountifully spread beneath the surface of her soil ; to open her mines ; to till her 

 fields by the assistance of improved methods of agriculture ; to encourage and promote 

 education, and the diffusion of morality and intelligence among the young generation 

 which is growing up to take our places. Our lands are distinguished by an abundance 

 of wood, water, and natural grasses ; the air is mild and the climate temperate ; our 

 fruits are among the most delicious; the fertility of the soil invites and rewards the 

 husbandman. 



