238 



Progress of Horticulture in Indiana. 



Vol. IX. 



mild and sprightly, and preferred with us to 

 the Green Newtovva pippin — keeping full 

 as well, bearing better, the pulp much more 

 manageable in tlie mouth, and the apple 

 has the peculiar property of bearing frosts, 

 and even freezing, without material injury; 

 Green Newtown pippin; Michael Henry 

 pippin, (very fine;) Pryor's Red, in flavour 

 resembling the New England Seek-no-fur- 

 ther; Golden russet, the prince of small 

 apples, and resembling a fine butter-pear 

 more nearly than any apple in our orchards, 

 — an enormous bearer; some limbs exhibited 

 were clustered with fruit, more like bunches 

 of grapes than apples; — Milam, favourite 

 early winter; Rarabo, the same. But the 

 apple most universally cultivated is the 

 Vandevere pippin, only a second or third- 

 rate table apple, but having other qualities 

 which quite ravish the hearts of our farm- 

 ers. The tree is remarkably vigorous and 

 healthy; it almost never fails in a crop; 

 when all others miss, the Vandevere pippin 

 Mis; the fruit, which is very large and 

 comely, is a late winter fruit — yet swells so 

 quickly as to be the first and best summer 

 cooking apple. If its flesh — which is coarse 

 — were fine, and its — too sharp — flavour 

 equalled that of the Golden russet, it would 

 stand witliout a rival, or near neighbour, at 

 the very head of the list of winter apples. 

 As it is, it is a first-rate tree, bearing a 

 second-rale apple. A hybrid between it 

 and the Golden russet, or Newtown Spitzen- 

 berg, appropriating the virtues of both, would 

 leave little more to be hoped for or wished. 

 The Baldioin has never come up to its east- 

 ern reputation with us; the Rhode Island 

 Greening is eaten for the sake of "auld 

 lang syne ;" the Rcxbury russet is not yet 

 in bearing — instead of it several false varie- 

 ties have been presented at our exhibitions. 

 All the classic apples of your orchards are 

 planted here, but are yet on probation. 



Nothing can exhibit better the folly of 

 trusting to seedling orchards for fruit, for a 

 main supply, than our experience in this 

 matter. The early settlers could not bring 

 trees from Kentucky, Virginia or Pennsyl- 

 vania — and, as the next resort, brought and 

 planted seeds of popular apples. A later 

 population found no nurseries to supply the 

 awakening demand for fruit trees, and re- 

 sorted also to planting seed. That which 

 at first sprang from necessity, has been con- 

 tinued from habit, and from an erroneous 

 opinion that seedling fruit was better than 

 grafted. An immense number of seedling 

 trees are found in our State. Since the In- 

 diana Horticultural Society began to collect 

 specimens of these, more than one hundred 

 and fifty varieties have been sent up for in- 



spection. Our rule is to reject every apple 

 which — the habits of the tree and the quali- 

 ty of its fruit being considered — has a supe- 

 rior or equal already in cultivation. Of all 

 the number presented, not six have vindi- 

 cated their claims to a name or a place, and 

 not more than three will probably be known 

 ten yeai's hence. While, then, we encou- 

 rage cultivators to raise seedlings experi- 

 mentally, it is the clearest folly to reject 

 the established varieties and trust to inferior 

 seedling orchards. From facts which I have 

 collected, there have been planted during the 

 past year, in this State, at least one hundred 

 thousand apple trees. Every year the de- 

 mand increases. It is supposed that the 

 next year will surpass this by at least twen- 

 ty-five thousand. 



In connection with apple orchards, our 

 farmers are increasingly zealous in pear 

 cultivation. We are fortunate in having 

 secured to our nurseries not only the most 

 approved old varieties, but the choicest new 

 pears of British, Continental or American 

 origin. A few years ago to each one hun- 

 dred apple trees, our nurseries sold, perhaps, 

 two pear trees; now they sell at least twenty 

 to a hundred. Very large pear orchards are 

 established, and in some instances are now 

 beginning to bear. I purchased Williams' 

 Bon Chretien in our market last fall for 75 

 cents the bushel. This pear, with the St. 

 Michael's, Beurre Diel, Beurre d'Aremberg, 

 Passe Colmar, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Sec- 

 kel, and Marie Louise, are the most widely 

 difl^used, and all of them regularly at our 

 exhibitions. Every year enables us to test 

 other varieties. The Passe Colmar and 

 Beurre d'Aremberg have done exceedingly 

 well, — a branch of the latter, about eighteen 

 inches in length, was exhibited at our Fair, 

 bearing over twenty pears, none of which 

 were smaller than a turkey's e^g. The de- 

 mand for pear trees this year, has been such 

 that our nurseries have not been able to an- 

 swer it — and they are swept almost entirely 

 clean. I may as well mention here that, 

 besides many more neighbourhood nurseries, 

 there are in this State eighteen which are 

 large and skilfully conducted. 



The extraordinary cheapness of trees fa- 

 vours their general cultivation. Apple trees, 

 not under ten feet high, and finely grown, 

 sell at ten, and pears at twenty cents ; and 

 in some nurseries, apples may be had at six 

 cents. This price, it should be recollected, 

 is in a community where corn brings from 

 twelve to twenty cents only, a bushel; wheat 

 sells from forty-five to fifty; hay at five dol- 

 lars the ton. During the season of '43-'44, 

 apples of the finest sorts, — Jennetin, green 

 Newtown pippin, &,c. — ^gold at my door, as 



