226 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



1871 



the orchard. He planted at regular distances 

 among the grafts, yearling trees, trimmed up and 

 headed back to a single stem, eight inches in height. 

 From that small beginning, but fifteen years ago, 

 stands the orchard of to-day, laden with a crop of 

 fruit that in bushels may be reckoned by the thous- 

 ands. This orchard was made square out upon the 

 open, bleak prairie, and has never felt the least pro- 

 tection from the sweeping blasts of winter. What 

 have the croakers on four year old nursery trees, 

 and especially on the great importance (?) o wind- 

 breaks to say to this ! Of course this orchard has 

 received the best of care, a sure guarantee to suc- 

 cessful orcharding in any jjart of Iowa. Since the 

 removal of the nursery trees the ground has been 

 variously occupied. Sometimes with a crop of oats 

 and invariably fed off by hogs. At other times in 

 grass fed oft" in the same way, at other times left to 

 itself. But very little trouble has at any time been 

 experienced with insects or blight. 



Turning north we made short calls at the orchards 

 of Mr. Hays, Mr. Elliott, Mr. Blye, Mr. John Smith, 

 closing up the day's observations at the home of Mr. 

 James Smith. After a run through his orchard 

 grounds, and partaking of the bounties of his gen- 

 erous board, we turned homeward, feeling wiser for 

 the day's jaunt. We were glad to see that Mr. 

 Smith's old orchard is gradually recovering from 

 the efiects of the canker-worm, and is making a 

 fair show of fruit. But to sum up. 



MOST PROMINKNT VARIETIES. — WHAT TO PLANT. 



Of varieties in the .several orchards visited. 

 White Winter Pearmain, Willow Twig, Jonathan, 

 Winesap, Fameuse and Red June stand prominent, 

 and in our estimation (adding Benoni, Wagoner 

 and Ben Davis,) may be set down as the basis upon 

 which to rear a first class commercial orchard in 

 Central Iowa ; and to finish up, may safely be added 

 thereto Domini, Westfleld Seeknofurther, Rambo, 

 Lowell, Early Pennock, Porter, Cole's Quince, 

 Dyer, Golden Sweet, and other sorts doing quite as 

 well. For fruitfulne.ss. White Winter Pearmain 

 excels all else this season ; and we are gratified to 

 find that the fruit is less marred and disfigured by 

 scab than for some seasons past. In some orchards 

 visited it is clear of all blemish — large and fair as 

 of old. 



BLIGHT AND INSECTS. 



Of blight we see less all through this region than 

 for many years past. About the only variety show- 

 ing it seriously is Tallman, and strange to say, hith- 

 erto one of the most healthy and robust of trees. 

 And we are sorry to see in some orchards that 

 Raule's Jannette, that good old standby (Mmrfail), is 

 blighting some, for the first. In Dr. Cole's orchard 

 some kind of blight or mildew has attacked the 

 leaf of the Rambo. It is something new, and what 

 it may amount to remains to be seen. 



Of the Codling moth but little is seen, and the 

 Leaf Roller has disappeared entirely. The Canker 

 Worm made but a faint demonstration at the com- 

 mencement of the season ; while that most insidu- 

 ous of all orchard enemies, the borer, is every- 

 where well understood and being hunted to the 

 death. — On the whole, we see a most gratifying 

 decline of all the drawbacks on fruit culture in this 

 region. In all this we have solid encouragement to 

 plant trees and to raise fruit. So mote it be. 



Wayside Random Notes. 



It came in our way a few days ago to make a 

 short call at the home of our esteemed friends. Dr. 

 James Weed and lady, near Muscatine. A visit, 

 though brief, as ours necessarily was at the time, 

 to their pleasant suburban residence, is at all times 

 enjoyable, for the Dr. is one of the most communi- 

 cative and social men that we have the pleasure of 

 meeting. Though crippled in one limb, he is one 

 of the most active and energetic business men often 

 met with, and always has something new to show 

 us and to talk about. He manages a farm, orchard, 

 and nursery, covering between four and five hun- 

 dred acres — has in orchard about 6000 trees, mostly 

 of a bearing age. The nucleus of all this was in a 

 half bushel of apple seeds, planted in the spring of 

 1842, and his oldest apple trees, the Benoni, were ■ 

 started from tlie bud or graft in the spring of 1844. 



NEW WAY OP GROWING SWEET POTATO PLANTS. 



As we passed out to take a drive through the ex- 

 tensive farm and orchard grounds, our attention 

 was directed to a new method of the Dr.'s getting 

 up for growing sweet potato plants, whereby the 

 hot bed in common use is dispensed with. Bottom 

 heat is supplied by underground flues, and the beds 

 protected from cold night air and inclement weather 

 by the use of wooden shutters. The beds are made 

 six by twenty feet, with a single shutter to each, 

 and so made and adjusted that one man can open 

 and close one of these large beds in a moment's 

 time by simply raising a lever. The Dr. grows 

 plants by the million for market, and finds this 

 method a great improvement on the old way. 



We next enter the extensive orchard grounds and 

 pass along between long rows of the largest apple 

 trees that we have seen in the State, and holding 

 immense crops of fruit. The largest and most 

 fruitful trees are the Benoni, a special favorite with 

 the Dr. And well it may be, for he says the Benoni 

 gives him more money than any other tree in his 

 grounds. It gives him a crop when almost every 

 thing else fails. The fruit bears shipping better 

 than any other summer or fall apple, and wherever 

 known commands a better price by twenty- five 

 per cent than any other sort. His crop this season 

 is very large, and he expects to make shipments to 

 Denver, and to other points in that region. 



