MEETING FOR DISCUSSION AT THE FAIR.

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MEETING FOR DISCUSSION AT THE FAIR.

It was thought advisable, by a number of members of the society who were in attendance at the State Fair, to resume the custom of holding a meeting for discussion some evening during the week of the fair; therefore notice was given that such a meeting would be held on Wednesday evening, Sept. 5th, at the Agricultural Rooms in the Capitol, and that the subjects for consideration would be "The Exhibition of Fruit at the Fair of 1878," and "Climatic and other causes affecting the fruit crop of the present season."

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On calling the society to order, President Smith, in introducing the first subject for discussion, said that he was much pleased to see so creditable a display of fruit on exhibition, and thought that gave us good ground for encouragement in regard to the fruit growing interest of the state. He was specially gratified to see the northern portion of the state so well represented by its fruits. He had come, year after year, to the meetings of the society, and spoken of the success of particular orchards in Brown county, the pear orchard near Green Bay especially; and the accounts he had given had been so very favorable, even in seasons when there was little or no fruit in large portions of the state, that he had often been disposed not to mention it again, lest the members of the society should think that his statements were greatly exaggerated, and he was very glad to be able to show samples of fruits from the orchard, and to bring forward the testimony of a number of persons present, who were well acquainted with it, to confirm the statements he had made. "

Mr. W. Reynolds, secretary of the Brown County Horticultural Society, being called on, said that he had known the pear orchard mentioned for a number of years. It stands near the top and on the eastern slope of quite a high ridge lying between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. The soil is quite poor. Great pains was taken in setting out the trees, and for a number of years they were well cultivated, but lately they have been neglected. They now stand in sod ground. The present proprietor does nothing for them beyond the marketing of the fruit. There are about forty trees in all. Some four or five of them seem to be affected with

blight or some other disease; but the balance are sound and healthy trees, are nearly all of them literally loaded with fruit the present season. The lower limbs had to be supported to prevent their breaking down with the weight of pears; the limbs were all so much bent with their load of fruit that it was difficult to get around under the trees. At President Smith's request, he had brought some of the pears and put on exhibition. One branch of the White Doyenne, about twelve inches long, had forty pears on it, and this was not an exceptional cluster; there were many others like it. He had never seen a crop like it elsewhere. The orchard had paid for itself many times over, bearing more or less every year, and frequently, very heavy crops. The different varieties all seemed about equally thrifty and productive. The trees were low, branching out near the ground; the largest of them were about eight inches in diameter.

President Smith thought that with these facts before us it was wrong to say that we cannot raise pears in Wisconsin. He was confident that great advances would be made in pear culture; hardier varieties will be found, and we shall learn better how to cultivate them. By observing closely the facts in connection with the soil, location, and cultivation of this and other successful orchards, we shall find many locations where the same conditions can be had, and like culture will bring like results. A pear orchard of five acres like this would be a fortune to any man. This orchard has paid for itself many times over. The trees were set out in 1862, and, commencing to bear in 1865 and 1866, had borne every year since.

Mr. Bennett, of Brown county, was acquainted with Mr. Decker, who set out the orchard. Great care was taken in the preparation of the ground and the setting of trees, and afterwards their cultivation was such, while Mr. Decker retained possession, as to promote a strong and thrifty growth. The soil was poor in quality, being mainly composed of a yellowish sand, the color seeming to indicate the presence of iron. About a foot from the surface, a clay subsoil was found. The surface soil was thrown off, the subsoil trenched, and the hillside formed into terraces, about five feet high and the same wide. The sandy soil was then thrown back on the surface of the terrace and lightly manured, and a row of trees set on each terrace. They made a remarkably healthy and thrifty

but not a large growth, and came early to bearing, and, as others have said, have been remarkable for their regular and abundant yield. He thought this lay in the proper care given to the young trees; in the adaptation of the soil and location to the production of a slow but healthy growth. The pear needs a stiff, heavy, but not a rich soil, and it is very essential that it should be well underdrained.

Mr. J. C. Plumb, of Milton, remarked that such wonderful accounts had been given of that pear orchard as to create a great desire on his part to visit it. He had seen it a number of times, and could say that the reports given of its fruitfulness and thrift have not been exaggerated. The land was quite broken in its character; the soil was very poor; was not of sufficient strength to raise cabbages. The surface soil was quite sandy but contained considerable limestone in its formation; this rested on a subsoil of shale, or what is usually called a clay subsoil. The location was high and exposed, the highest of any point in that section, and there was no shelter in any direction; but here the trees stood, in a blue grass sod, yet hardy, thrifty and loaded with fruit. He was satisfied that what had been done there could be done in 10,000 places in Wisconsin. By the proper choice of soil and location, and the right care, we can raise pears. He had no doubt but that much of the broken land in Brown and Door counties, now regarded of but little value, were well adapted to the growth of fruit. The fruit on exhibition at the fair, from the northern part of the state, was superior in fairness, in color and in quality to that from the southern and middle portions. The difference seems to be greater this season than usual, but this fact can be observed nearly every season, and seems to indicate that the further north fruit can be grown the better the quality. He believed that in the northern portions of the state, fruit will yet be successfully raised in many locations which are now regarded as beyond the fruit bearing belt. Mr. Bennett said that many of the attempts in that section to establish apple orchards had not been successful; many of the trees had been killed or seriously injured. Some varieties seem to endure better than others. The apples brought from that section for exhibition were mostly from an orchard owned by Mr. Cotton, who had been as successful as anyone. His orchard stands in a hard, white clay soil, commonly known as a white oak soil. Nearly

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two-thirds of the trees originally set out died, but there is one row of nine Fameuse trees that has escaped injury. These nine trees have borne heavy crops of fruit every other year since they came into bearing, and some every year.

Mr. J. S. Stickney, of Wauwatosa, said it was encouraging to learn of some instances of success in raising pears, and that the varieties doing the best in the pear orchard at Green Bay were those commonly set and regarded, as the best adapted to cultivation here. He raised some pears; had picked Flemish Beauty pears that he had no doubt had cost him five dollars a piece, yet he sets out a few trees every year. Pear trees need a soil rich in mineral elements, but not a rich soil; should not be cultivated but rather be kept back, so as to make a slow and steady growth. With such treatment and in such soil, he had no doubt that in many places pears might be raised successfully. The disposition to blight was a serious drawback, and the tendency to this is as great on the lake shore as in other portions of the state.

Mr. Kellogg, of Janesville, in reply to an inquiry, said he would not withdraw his statement in relation to the average cost of pears raised in this state, but might in time have to except the lake shore region. Nearly all the pears on exhibition, year after year, at our fairs, and all the instances of successful culture, are confined to this belt. Ozanne, at Racine, Smith, Parks, Jeffrey, Pilgrim, and this orchard at Green Bay, are all in this region. There was one tree in Rock county that had been a success, and he believed only one. Mr. Jeffrey, of Smithville, said he was located in what was called the lake shore belt, and had met with some success in raising pears. Had lost many trees by blight, but still thought it paid. He had set out fifty pear trees this season and should keep on setting.

CAUSES AFFECTING FRUIT CROP.- Mr. Stickney introduced this subject by stating that we never started out in a season with a fairer prospect of a bountiful yield of all kinds of fruit than this spring, but heavy frosts in May, at the time the fruit buds. were opening, seriously marred the prospect; and those frosts were followed by a long spell of cold, chilly weather, which seemed to check the development of the foliage; there was some time that the growth of leaf and tree seemed to be entirely suspended, and it seemed a question whether the leaves that had formed would start

anew or go back. This check of the foliage affected the whole season, both in fruit and wood growth. In some varieties there was not sufficient power to develop the little fruit that had escaped the frost, and it blasted; and in those varieties that bore sparingly even, as the Duchess, Keswick's Codling and Golden Russet, the fruit was imperfect in form and inferior in quality, because there was not vitality enough to develop it. The foliage of some of the hardiest varieties was affected the most; as the Transcendent, Fall Orange and Plumb's Cider. The Tetofsky was not affected in this way, but bore no fruit. Later in the season, a severe drought all along the lake shore seriously affected the development of tree and fruit,

Mr. Geo. P. Peffer, of Pewaukee, bad experienced the same trouble as Mr. Stickney. Even the foliage of the plum tree, tame and wild, was injured, not apparently by the frost, but by the cold weather following. The leaves curled up, withered and dried up, and the fruit, where there was any, fell off. His Flemish Beauties cracked on the northwest side of the tree, the fruit was bitter, and the foliage poorly developed. With him, the trees on the southeastern slope suffered the most, or more than on the southern.

Mr. Phillips, of West Salem, had in a measure escaped the injuries suffered by most of the fruit growers in the southwestern part of the state. He thought he had about two-thirds of the apples raised in La Crosse county. His trees were mostly young; had been set three or four years, and they had as much fruit as they ought to carry. There are no apples on the low lands or in the valleys, and generally but a light crop on the ridges. Mr. Wilcox had also informed him that it was the same in the country westno fruit on the prairie, all on the high land.

Mr. Plumb thought that many causes tended to injure the fruit crop of the season. It was not all the frosts of May, or the subsequent chilly weather. Our trees had been weakened by the heavy fruitage of the previous year, and had not yet recovered their vitality; insects, too, had done much injury. The canker worm and leaf roller had caused much damage in many parts of the state. Various causes operate together, and each intensifies the effect of the others. It is specially noteworthy that high locations have suffered the least, and in some instances seem to have escaped injury entirely.

Mr. Kellogg remarked that in his experience and observations