184 HANCOCK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 



every thing that promises to be of value, hoping yet to find 

 the coming apple, i. e., an apple combining the size, color, 

 hardiness and productiveness of the Ben Davis, with the crisp, 

 delicate flesh and superior flavor of some of our best sorts, 

 like the Ked Canada or Jonathan. 



The Ben Davis is the most popular market apple in this 

 locality, and in common with other orchardists, I have planted 

 largely of it, but do not think it advisable to exclude better 

 varieties, as the time may not be far distant when it will be a 

 drug in the market, on account of its poor quality and the 

 great quantities grown. 



Commercial orcharding, in the hands of the specialist, 

 generally proves to be profitable, but in the hands of the aver- 

 age farmer it is often, a failure. This arises from the fact that 

 the countless hordes of insects that prey upon the tree and 

 fruit, and the numerous diseases the trees are subject to, re- 

 quires more attention than farmers can or will bestow upon 

 them. From 



J'OUR OR FIVE ACRES OP MY BEN DAVIS ORCHARD 



I have gathered the past season six hundred bushels per acre, 

 which, of course, gives an enormous profit. But it must be 

 borne in mind, that while four or five acres yielded a profit of 

 two or three hundred dollars per acre, the remaining sixty-five 

 or six did not give a profit of ten dollars per acre. I have not 

 found any branch of horticulture profitable, except apple 

 growing. After 



TWENTY YEARS EXPERIENCE, 



I have concluded that peach growing for commercial purposes 

 does not pay, as we can not, in this climate, rely upon having 

 a crop oftener than one year in three or four. 



PEAR TREES 



suffer so severely from blight that I have, after losing hundreds 

 of them, concluded to give up growing this delicious fruit for 

 market. 



EARLY RICHMOND OR EARLY MAY 



is the only cherry worth growing for market purposes in 



