PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 73 



A Practical Test of Hot Water upon Peach Trees. 



Mr. Frederic Kindley, New Holland, Wabash Co., Indiana, writes limv 

 he ciired a si^k peach tree. lie sny.s: " I had one some eiglit or tt-n inches 

 thn>u<;h, hanging full of peaches, and it took the yellows, and the leaves 

 bepan to fall o(\', and tlu; peaches shriveled .so that I could feel tiie stones 

 in the fruit. One day when they were washing 1 said to my wife I wouhl 

 help that tree to die, so I took my mattock and dug around the roots of the 

 tree, and took my brass kettle, put it over the fire, with some ten or twelve 

 pallons of soapsuds in it, and when it came to the boil I took it and poured 

 all the contents en the tree, in the forks thereof, which were a foot or so 

 from the g'round. The suds ran down and slood around the root.^ of the 

 tree, and in a few days the leaves quit falling- oiT, and the fruit filled up 

 and came to perfection, and the tree grew vigorously for years, when one 

 cold winter killed it and all the rest of my peach trees; and I believe the 

 same pn>ce.ss will cure the curls also. I think after 1 sudsed it it bore the 

 greenest foliage of any of my i^each trees." 



Sclphur for Borers. 



A farmer gives the following as the way he destroyed the apple tree 

 borer: " Having seen in the doings of the Farmers' Club a great deul of the 

 trouble caused by the borer, which is so destructive to apple trees, I will 

 give my recipe, which I think will not fail to remove the trouble. Twelve 

 years ago I had a choice tree that put forth leaves and then turned yellow, 

 I dug the grass away from the roots and put sulphur around tlie roots and 

 in the holes maJe by the borer. I did not dig the worms out, but the sul- 

 plinr must have killed them, for the next spring the tree was as thrifty as 

 ever, and has been full of apples every year since. I have used this remedy 

 now fur twelve years, and it does away with digging out the worms, and 

 has never failed. 



Fruit Culture in Southern Illinois. 



Mr. S. S. Wallihan, Evansville, Wis., wants to know "what success 

 attends fruit culture in central aud southern Illinois. Each season we hear 

 iodeQnile atatenunts of dealers in early apples, peaches and blackberries, 

 that they are from 'down in Illinois.' Now, as Illinois is principally one 

 grand prairie, the question arises, has fruit culture on prairie lands as far 

 north as the 40th or 41st parallel been made a success? Or is it only in 

 particular localities and on land previousl}- covered with timber? Some 

 report from thoR° win) know, covering the above, will be very acceptable." 



Minnesota Crab Apples. 



Mr. ^^ . C. Watt, Richfield, Hennepin county, Minn., wants to kmiw some- 

 thing about the value of the native crab apple. He is apparently a new 

 immigrant into that scctitm, and finding some crab trees in blossom, wants 

 to know if they will pniduce fruit worth preserving, and whether the trees 

 will bear grafting with our cultivated varieties of apples. 



Mr. J^olun Robiiison. — I have repeatedly answered these questions. I 

 will do it once more. Some of the crab trees of the western prairies grow 



