Pomology, Gardening, Forestry, Horticulture, 



Architecture, 



Vol. I. DES MOINES, IOWA ; LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS, APRIL & MAY, 1870. Nos. 4 & 5- 



MARK MILLER, 



Editor and P>-oprietor, - - Vcs Moines, 



J. STAYMAN, Leavenworth, Kansas. 



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Fruit Prospects in Kansas. 



As public attention has becu called to 

 Kansas as a fruit growing State, we believe 

 a few remarks on our present prospects of 

 fruit to bo of general interest. It is not our 

 object, and never has been, to shrink from 

 our duty, however disagreeable it may be to 

 our feelings, but give the facts as they exist, 

 believing and knowing our advantages for 

 fruit growing cannot be changed by one dis- 

 aster, however great it may appear to be. — 

 We have had a mild, dry, and pleasant win- 

 ter, and all kinds of fruit came through safe 

 except some varieties of the more tender 

 budded peaches, which were killed by the 

 sudden changes of temperature of the 16th 

 of January, and the 18th to the 30th of 

 February — being respectively 51 and 58 

 degrees. 



We have observed that 60 degrees is the 

 maximum of a sudden change the peach will 

 endure, irrespective of the low temperature. 

 As spring advanced our prospects bright- 

 ened. The trees were loaded with fruit 

 buds ; they began to swell and unfold, and 

 on the 14th of April the peach trees could 

 be seen in every direction in full Iiloom, and 

 up to that eyening there never was a brighter 

 prospect of an abundant crop of all kinds 

 of fruit, and there appeared to be a general 

 rejoicing. But as the setting sun began to 

 disappear, so did our fruit prospects begin to 

 glimmer ; for the wind tliat had been blow- 

 ing from the south-west with a gale for sev- 



eral days, changed suddenly to the north- 

 west, which blew fiercely for three days, 

 sinking the temperature 55 degrees, — from 

 73 to 18. 



This sudden change or severe cold would 

 not have destroyed our fruit crop had not 

 the previous twelve days been of such jii 

 high temperature. The mean being 55.6 

 degrees, and maximum being 87. Sucli a 

 high temperature for nearly two weeks had 

 prematurely developed all tlie fruit buds and 

 brought many to full bloom several days too 

 soon. Had the mean temperature been 50 

 degrees no such disaster could have occurred, 

 and until it had reached 53 it could not 

 have afl'ected the grape. 



In this instance we have 55 degrees in its 

 blooming slate. Had it not fallen much 

 below the freezing point our crop would not 

 have been much injured, but in sinking as 

 low as 18 froze the buds to solid ice, which 

 nearly destroyed all our apples, peaches, 

 cherries, and all of the pears and plums; 

 half of the grapes, strawberries, blackber- 

 ries and currants. The i^eaches saved, are 

 seedlings— the bloom being only partially 

 expanded — and apples (those very late 

 blooming kinds) ; and the Late Duke and 

 Morello Cherries, not much developed. 



We have examined several vineyards and 

 find fully half of the buds killed, but we 

 think there is sufficient dormant buds left to 

 produce a fair crop of grapes. Although 

 our fruit prospects liave been blasted for 

 this season, we should not be discouraged, 

 for such disasters do not frequently occur 

 in Kansas — this being the only case iu the 

 last ten years. Should we, however, bo 

 subject to such changes late in the season, 

 we have the means at our hand (to succeed 

 in fruit growing. Science and art have 

 produced a revolution on this subject in 

 the last few years. We have discovered the 

 exact degree of cold that will destroy our 

 fruit, as well as the degree of heat to develop 

 and mature it. Those^ conditions we can 

 command, first : by selecting proper loca- 

 tions; second, Iiy choice of varieties. 



First : — By planting on northern exposed 

 slopes and cold locations, to keep tlie bloom 

 back late in the spring when all danger is 

 over. Sccontl — By selecting varieties that 

 do not develop the fruit buds so early in tlie 

 spring, as the following varieties of apples : 



Raule's Janettc, Jeffries, Tetofsky,Bohannan, 

 Fondling, Drap dc' Or, Chief Good, Mother, 

 Calawahee, Sweet Swaar, Chandler, Empe- 

 rer. Black Jack, Peach Apple, Butter Apple, 

 Northern Spy, Knox Russet, Prolific Blush,. 

 Hog Island Sweet, Choice. Also the follow- 

 ing, which are nearly as late, being but a 

 few days difflercnce : King, Keim, Canada, 

 Dr. Dewitt, Neversink, Winter Sweet, Kan- 

 sas Sweet, Jersey Sweet, Sciota Beauty, 

 Tahnans Sweet, Green Pearmain, Fall Wine 

 Sap, Cluster Pijarmain, Morgan's Favorite, 

 Striped Gilleflower, Marks, Adams, Printz, 

 Krowser, Chronicle, Oskaloosa, Late Green, 

 Broadwell, Brittle Sweet, St. Lawrence, 

 Hampton's Honey, Terry's White Fall, Hen- 

 wood Bellfleur, Flushing Spitzenburg, Sum- 

 mer Bellfleur, Pa. 



In the above list of apples we have fifty 

 varieties. Had we a sufficient number of 

 these this season we would have plenty of 

 fruit in almost any location. We might also 

 make selections of late blooming peaches, 

 cherries, and grapes. 



The peach will endure a much harder freeze 

 than the apple, pear, cherry, or the grape, 

 when only partially expanded ; while in its 

 dormant state it will not. The Clinton, 

 Osee, and Concord grapes, which are among 

 our hardiest varieties, have suffered much 

 more than the Catawba, which is much more 

 tender, but the buds were not so fur ad- 

 vanced. 



This is no theory, for we find many Wine 

 Saps not injured on cold ground, while other 

 Wine Saps on warmer ground, not ten rods 

 away, were all killed, being, of course, more 

 fully developed. Coiisequenllj', had this 

 cold snap come a few days sooner it 

 would have done but little harm, or could 

 our fruit trees have been in a cold situation 

 the result would have been equally favor- 

 able. Or under existing circumstances had 

 we a sufficient numljcr of late blooming 

 sorts we would have escipcd a total loss. 



It is these andluany similar meterological 

 facts we have been for years laboring to 

 show to the public: — proving peculiar charac- 

 teristics of each variety of fruit to withstand 

 the vicissitudes of climate, etc. To learn 

 these facts and overcome these difficulties is 

 the science of successful fruit growing. We 

 have classified hundreds of varieties under 

 all the conditions observable, and we believe 

 we have arrived at satisfactory meterological 

 data to determine the varieties adiipted to 

 any given locality or vicissitude of climate. 

 J. Stayman, Ass't Ed. 



