12 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



Jan 



President McWhorter's Address. 



"We present below, the adcU-ess of Tyler 



McWhorter, President of the Illinois State 



Horticultural Society, at the Fourteenth 



Annual Meeting at Ottawa, on the 14th ult : 



Friends of tlve Illinois State Horticultural 

 Society : — Most cordially I greet you all, and 

 congratulate you that we are again convened 

 to enjoy that reciprocal good feeling, for 

 which horticultural gatherings are so much 

 characterized. And I trust there will be no 

 abatement in our zeal in investigating those 

 interesting subjects, so intimately related to 

 the higher advancement of our civilization, 

 the improvement of our landsaipes, the 

 charms of rural life — in short, to our whole 

 domestic prosperity. 



It is with much diflidence that I assume 

 the position to which you have elected me 

 — a position which was to me quite unex- 

 pected, and I will add, unsought. If I fail 

 to meet your expectations, I will trust that 

 the same spirit of kindness and personal rc- 

 si^ect that have ever been manifested toward 

 me, will induce you to bear with my incom- 

 petency. 



We are assembled together to hold our 

 fourteenth annual meeting, here in tliis in- 

 teresting town of Ottawa, surrounded by the 

 picturesque scenery of timbered bluffs and 

 rocky promontories, that call to mind the 

 memories of Indian legendary. 



With the older members of this associa- 

 tion it is but natural to reeiU the fact, that 

 the original foundation of our present socie- 

 ty was the Northwestern Fruitgrowers' As- 

 sociation, organized in the autumn of 1851. 



Sitting before me are some familiar faces 

 of those who were among the founders of 

 that primitive organization ; and inadvertent- 

 ly the mind recalls the memorj' of those who 

 then anticipated in our gatherings, but have 

 since passed away. 



In looking back over the field of our past 

 labors, we have abundant reason to congratu- 

 late ourselves on the practical progress we 

 have made. A spirit has been awaken- 

 ed in the public mind until tree planting 

 and fruit growing have been airried to 

 an extent, that at that time no one could 

 have anticipated — even in some instances 

 the spirit ol planting has outrun people's 

 judgment. Over our broad prairies where 

 the wild winds and prairie fires had free 

 sweep, we have lived to see it dotted with 

 valuable homesteads, surrounded with grt)ves 

 and orchards and lines of hedges. We see 

 an increasing tendency to improvement in 

 homestead arrangements, to which the rich 

 and enlivening effect of evergreens begin to 

 appear. Lands formerly deemed wortliless, 

 have been brought into valuable requisition, 

 and extensively applied to fruit culture. 



During tlie fruit season, loaded fruit trains 

 are moving over our railroad lines, until well 

 tilled Ijoxes and baskets are heaped and jnled 

 in the markets of our larger towns, and the 

 markets of nearly every railroad town in our 

 State is perfumed with the aroma of our 

 fruits! Grape culture, from the State nonen- 

 tity, has been sprung into being, and l)y a 

 spirit of enthusiasm is being extended over 

 our whole country ! 



But it is not to regail ourselves over what 

 we have accomplished, that we are come to- 

 gether; but to consider earnesth' the work 

 tliat is before us. Too well I understand the 

 character of the men whom I address, to 

 sujiposel can satisfy you with flourishes and 

 rhetoric. You will expect from me practical 

 suggestions on the subjects of our investi- 

 gations. 



As a horticultural society we have field of 

 investigation, scarcely equalled by any other 

 State. True, we have not the diversity of 

 mountain ranges or inland lakes. The liilly 

 range extending across the Southern portion 



of our State, the loess of our river bluffs, the 

 changes in our underlying geological forma- 

 tions, the diversity of our black prairie soils 

 and thinner soils of our rolling lands, consti- 

 tute the principal topographical features, 

 having any load influence or horticultural 

 pursuits. But the fact that our State has an 

 extent of nearly four hundred miles of lati- 

 tude, gives to our Horticultural Society an 

 extensive field of labor. 



Again, the climatic character of our inland 

 region, the extreme vicissitudes of our chang- 

 ing seasons, constitute for us a special sub- 

 ject of inquiry. Some seasons we have con- 

 tinued rains and cloudy skies, favorable to 

 the spread of the fungus family, greatly af- 

 fecting the products of our orchards, vine- 

 yards and gardens. Such has been the pre- 

 ceding season. Other seasons have extreme 

 drouths extending into autumn ; so that the 

 trees close their growth in mid-summer ; cir- 

 culations ceasing before the essential ele- 

 ments are elaborated to sustain and perfect 

 the next year's crop. Such was the summer 

 of 1807, followed by the deficient crops of 

 1808. Our soft southern winds that prevail 

 in the summer months, extending into au- 

 tumn, give us a free growth, but not always 

 well ripened wood to endure the severity of 

 the winter. 



These peculiarities of our climate, and the 

 verj' distinct character of our sulj-soil — more 

 favorable for deeper planting — renders it 

 unsafe for us, in the valley of the Great 

 AVe.st, to rely for instruction on the horticul- 

 tural savans of the Atlantic States. It de- 

 volves on us to solve our own horticultural 

 diflicvilties. And it cannot be disguised, that, 

 to some extent, these difficulties increase 

 with the increased extent of planting. This 

 is perhaps only what we should expect. 

 That the prevalence of insects and parasitic 

 fungi will multiply and extend in proportion 

 as we provide the means by which they ain 

 exist, is but a natural result. This has been 

 the case in other countries. More diseases 

 and more scientific skill is required to raise 

 fruit, as the country becomes older. This is 

 so much the case iu the Eastern States that 

 an opinion has gained consideralile extent, 

 that the apple crop is there on the decline. 

 In the minds of some this is an occasion of 

 some alarm. I have placed in the hands of 

 the Secretary, an extract from a private let- 

 ter from J. j. Thomas, on this subject, and I 

 think the Secretary has communiciitimis 

 from otlier horticulturalists of the older 

 States, on the same suliject. The letter from 

 which I have made extracts is in the brief 

 condensed st}'le for which the writings of 

 that veteran horticulturalist is characterized. 

 Mr. Thomas takes a common sense view of 

 the subject, free from hypothetical vagaries. 



Thus it seems to be a fact that, with the 

 increase of orchards, we have an increase of 

 fungoid infections and insects that infest 

 orchards. It is fnnu this circumstance that 

 several varieties of apjjles, that were most 

 profitable in our first orchards, are now so 

 scabby and worthless, that they are falling 

 into disrepute. Hence, it is, that our fruit 

 lists needs occasional revision. Varieties, 

 that a few years ago we held in the highest 

 regard, we are inclined to reject. 



As yet we can boast of no signal triumph 

 over the hordes of insects that infest our 

 orchards and gardens, and scarcely any con- 

 trol over the various fungoid infections. 



The subject of pruning is one on which 

 western horticulturists are quite unsettled in 

 theory We have not yet given this subject 

 the close observation that its importance 

 deserves. 



I would also invite attention to the sub- 

 ject of cultivation of oi'cliards and fruit 

 grounds geaerallj'. AVe often have excessive 

 rains, our soils are easily washed. We are 

 yearly applyii'g to fruit culture more 

 grounds with broken or unbroken surface. 



We are startled by the revelations of geology, 

 of the wonderful denudation of coiiliueiital 

 regions in past durations of time I fortu- 

 nately for us, that, by some means, (we know 

 not how) a goodly thickness of drift was 

 spread over the old denuded surface, consti- 

 tuting for us the best sub-soil of which any 

 land can boast. But if several hundred feet 

 in thickness, of the original surface was car- 

 ried away by the action of the elements in 

 past time, well may we concern ourselves 

 with the ten fold greater rapidity with which 

 the surface of our cultivated grounds are 

 now being washed away and carried off by 

 our streams. While we are reveling in a 

 soil enriched by decaying grasses and the 

 ashes of prairie fires of past centuries, it 

 becomes us to consider how we are to secure 

 continued fertility after the vegetable humus 

 and alkalies of our present surface shall be 

 washed away. To counteract or diminish 

 the washing process, to what extent we may 

 profitably resort to underdraining, surface 

 mulching, seeding to gn.sses, or to other 

 means, are important considerations. 



As horticulturists, it is not only proper for 

 us to learn in the varions departments of our 

 pursuijs, how a given amount of labor can 

 be turned to the most dollars and cents ; but 

 if we are that dignified, scientific, self-.sacri- 

 ficing bod3' of men we claim to be, this 

 should not be the sole object of our deliber- 

 ations — not solelj' to conduct our avocations 

 so as most efficiently to line our i)ockets ; but' 

 we shfuild study and work for the love and 

 pleasure of bringing forth fruits or facts 

 that may be a blessing to those that come 

 after us. 



Thus far, all the progress that has been 

 made in the improvement of varieties of 

 fruits, beyond the labors of a few isolated 

 experimenters, has occurred from accidental 

 seedlings. As yet, very little has been done 

 in the production of new varieties by arti- 

 ficial means of fertilization. 



For untold ages this work of hybridizing 

 has been going on through the agency of 

 the winds and the little bee. Let us take 

 hints from nature, and learn from the bee. 

 If the bee can transmit the pollen of the 

 fl(iwer from tree to tree and plant to plant, 

 may not the hand of intelligence do as 

 much? A wide and interesting field lies 

 before us almost unexplored ! What bless- 

 ings to posterity is yet to be the reward of 

 scientific diligence iu this direction ? 



If all our melting pears have originated 

 from the wild ehcjke pear of Europe, and the 

 peach and the almond from the wiUl peach 

 of Persia, by the means of natural variations 

 and accidental crossings, who shall say 

 where is the limit to the improvement of 

 fruits, or what may not be efl'ected by intel- 

 ligence in artificial means of hybridizing ? 



"with the accidental seeding we experiment 

 with not to exceed one chance in a thousand 

 for improvement. With hybridizing, we 

 proceed with intelligence and a reivsonable 

 expectation of what may be the result. It is 

 but making a practical application of the 

 principles of nature for the amelioration of 

 our fruits. I will venture the opinion that 

 through this means a class of fruits will be 

 brought forth in future entirely surpassing 

 our present selections. We yet know noth- 

 ing of any bounds that nature has set in the 

 improvement of fruits. 



Between the Siberian apple and the com- 

 mon apple, it is believed that several acci- 

 dental hybrids have already originated. I 

 am aware this is doubted b.v some, merely on 

 theoretical grovmds. But it is now well 

 known that hybridization is not in all cases 

 bounded by tlie barriers of bolanicid classi- 

 ficatiim. We have already crossed that 

 boundary line in diflen lit instaaces where 

 the specific ditierence is nibre strongly 

 marked than between the Pyriis malus and 

 Pyitis malus prunifolia. What a pity, tliat 



