211 



tion has been given to this point by most of our agricultu- 

 ral colleges the past four or five years. 



From Bulletin No. 52, issued by the University of 

 Illinois in 1898, we take the following. We quote it espec- 

 ially because it corresponds to our own experience and is 

 the result of several years of observation: 



" Throughout large sections of Illinois may be found the 

 rotting remnants of once extensive orchards, representing 

 large original expenditures of both labor and money. The 

 frequency with which such localities are met would almost 

 seem to justify the statement usually heard in the neigh- 

 borhood where such worn out orchards are found that 

 the soil is not fitted for the growing of fruit. On the other 

 hand, the enormous apple and other fruit production in 

 other parts of the state, and frequently in localities not far 

 distant from those mentioned, makes it evident that the 

 reason so often assigned cannot be the correct one. 



CAUSES OF FAILURE. 



"On examination and inquiry it will be found to be 

 almost invariably the case that the true cause for the 

 failure or the dying out of an orchard is the lack of profi- 

 cient, or the entire absence of proper cultivation and care. 

 While the Illinois agriculturist has been devoting his time 

 and attention to the care of his field and garden crop, -it 

 is too often the case that the orchard has been left to care 

 for itself, with the above mentioned result. The com- 

 monest cause of failure in orchards in Illinois may be 

 traced direct to the ill effects of summer drouths, though 

 perhaps it is more commonly referred to as freezing in 

 winter. The connection really existing between these two 

 destructive agencies has not been often recognized. The 

 fact that certain varieties of apples usually accounted 



