C. A*> * «^ and extended as the crop of 1893 developed and ripened. Although the bloom on Illinois orchards gave promise of an , abl,ndant y‘ eld duri "g April and May, a few weeks sufficed to show that t e crop of apples was to be almost a complete failure throughout the State, and though here and there a few exceptions may exist, the failure v is the most disastrous ever known. Pears, cherries and plums met the /; San ;: fate> bUt a sma11 Cr °P of Inches, a few pears, and a moderate Fsyidd of grapes remain to cheer the grower. v During the season of small fruits the tables bore ample evidences , 0 the superiority of Illinois soil for their production, and there was also • a creditable showing of cherries and plums. The king of fruit, however, is the apple, and in spite of the general failure no other State has as yet been able to excel or even equal the exhibit which the Illinois tables daily present to the visitor. Shipments 3 I I 30077 4 Illinois Fruit Exhibit are received every day fresh from the orchards and vineyards to make good the loss by decay. VVe believe that every citizen of the State feels a pride in the success which so far has characterized this exhibit, and we can confi- dently assert that no efforts will be spared to keep it up to the proper standard so far as the almost total failure of the fruit crop will permit. The lithograph covers of this little work give a very correct idea of the appearance of the tables of the exhibit as’they appeared on the first day of August. APPLE ORCHARD IN BUREAU COUNTY. FRUIT GROWING IN ILLINOIS. The Illinois State Horticultural Society, which has in charge the care and development of the Illinois exhibit of fruit at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, having a natural and well developed pride in the fertile soil, the con- genial climate, and the great variety of the horticultural and vegetable pro- ductions, as well as the capacity and capability of a further development to an unlimited extent, offers this little pamphlet to the inquirer, not as an encyclo- pedia that contains all that is known about fruit culture, or as an advertisement to boom the cheap lands of some particular locality, but to give information in general about the fruit growing ability of the State, its markets and advantages to anyone seeking a home within its borders. The three attributes of success in fruit growing from a practical standpoint are good and accessible markets, a productive soil, and a climate suited to the particular fruits to be produced. To be sure, the amateur who seeks only to occupy his time with a pleasant or agreeable occupation has no need of a market, but in general those who plant trees do so for the profit there is either to themselves or to their children, and to this class we address ourselves. God first planted a garden and placed man in it to dress it and keep it, with permission to eat of everything therein contained, except of the fruit of one tree which common consent, for some unexplained reason, supposes to have been a seedling apple tree. The variety is, however, immaterial, but we learn from the oldest and best possible authority that Adam was a gardener and fruit grower, and that the other branches of agriculture were practiced at a later date. Considering the fertility of our soil, the varied production of vegetables, fruits, flowers and grains it has been thought by some that the Garden of Eden was located somewhere within our State borders, but since reading some of the florid descriptions of other States and their claims to the location of the first garden, we concede that the probabilities are against us, provided the aforesaid claims are all true in fact. In this sketch we propose, however, to leave out the fanciful and devote ourselves to the practical, leaving to those who have lands to sell or towns to boom the pleasure as well as the profit (?) of depicting an Arcadia whose realities come far short of filling the pictured ideal. We admit at the outset that there are difficulties and disappointments sur- rounding the growing of fruit, that an occasional failure, like that of the present year, may intervene to rob the horticulturist of anticipated profits, but who shall say that the rest given the trees will not in the end be beneficial to them, not only in prolonging their lives, but also act as a destroyer of noxious insects which damage the quality and depreciate the value of the apple, cherry and pear in occasional years of abundant yields? 7 8 Fruit Growing in Illinois. To all who are seeking for a new location we can confidently say that they will receive a warm welcome from the horticulturists of Illinois and will be given all the information they ask, for as a rule selfishness is not a fault that grows among the men that engage in the development of that art which “doth lend aid to nature.” The numerous Horticultural societies which abound afford ample opportunities for exchanging experiences and information, and individ- uals are always willing to let others profit by their experience. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. The fruit grower is always an intelligent man. The very nature- of his busi- ness tends to increase his desire for learning, and causes him to study sciences which to the average mortal are a sealed book. This being the case, he will not naturally take his famil } 7 to the backwoods, or to a state where education is neglected, even though the State may boast'of an enormous school fund, which, in some unexplained manner, gets distributed in the towns, leaving the country people to provide schools the best they can, or giving them such a small share that practically it does but little good. Illinois is noted for its free schools in Avhich every child from six to twenty- one years may be taught without money and without price. It has over ten thousand school houses within its borders, as well as an abundance of high schools, seminaries, colleges and universities. Two Normal universities supply teachers, and facilities for acquiring higher education are abundant. No one need to send his sons or daughters outside the borders of the State to secure the most polished or scientific education unless he choose to do so. THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS offers to all the young men and women of the State full opportunity and every facility to study those sciences which relate to Agriculture and Horticulture, and has among its professors some of the most eminent scientists living. The institution has ample means and grounds for demonstrating in a thoroughly practical manner .what is taught in its classrooms. Added to the present extensive collection of objects of natural history will be the handsome exhibit in the Illinois State building, which at the close of the World’s Exposition will be removed to the university at Champaign. Following closely the school question comes the one of RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION, and the seeker will find, on examination, that we are unusually well supplied in that regard, and that, travel where he will, he is seldom out of sight of a church spire or the sound of the church bell. In the matter of church building our people have been remarkably liberal, as the hundreds of churches scattered through the farming communities abundantly attest. Fruit Growing in Illinois . OUR POPULATION 9 outside the large cities is largely composed of native born, though here and there may be found an occasional settlement of the better class of Germans or Swedes engaged in agriculture, than whom it would be hard to find better farmers or more quiet and industrious citizens. The tendency of population both here and in Europe is toward the large cities. Our young men leave the farm to engage in trade or manufacturing, turning the producer into the consumer. Many deplore this, but what would be the result to the farmer and fruit grower if the stream was reversed and the denizens of the city bought farms and became producers? The increase of popu- lation in the cities, either large or small, creates an increased demand for farm products, and it is our object to increase the production so as to cover all demands as well as to cheapen the methods of production, of marketing and of preserving, so as to return an increased profit to the grower. It is not so much the high prices that make fruit growing profitable as the steady demand at reasonable prices, with every expenditure of production reduced to the minimum. AN IDEAL STATE. If it were possible to develop an ideal state, it would be one in which the producer and the consumer would be brought into immediate relations with each other and thereby dispense with the services of all middlemen. Such a state will, however, never exist except in the brain of some would-be reformer or romance writer, for the very obvious reason that things are as they are. In practical life the more diversified the industries of a country the more profit to its people. On the one hand we see this exemplified in the great grain growing States of the West, where a failure of the grain crops entails a long list of calam- ities; on the other hand States in which there is a more diversified industry may suffer from a total loss of some crop and yet have an abundance of other wares to sell to prevent any great distress. It is also better exemplified in the two countries of Great Britain and France. With a superficial area of about the same as the States of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri they contain a population of some seventy-five millions of people, or ten millions g: eater than that «f the whole United States. In England nature has deposited .huge beds of coal and ore in close proximity, while every village almost contains a manufactory. Nature was not over kind to England in giving it a salubrious climate or a fertile soil, yet necessity has made the most of both. France is much more favorably situated as regards soil and climate, and more nearly resembles that of our State in its northern provinces, though the south competes with Florida or California. France also has mines of ore and coal, and to its general agriculture adds viniculture and silk growing, in neither of which we can be expected to excel until times and the demand, as well as the wages paid labor, change. 10 Fruit Growing in Illinois. These two nations have been unusually prosperous, brought about almost entirely by the fact that they consume all the products of their own lands besides purchasing great quantities from foreigners, paying for the same in man- ufactured goods. For the purpose of showing the comparison, we have been to the pains to call attention to the foregoing facts, for the very reason that Illinois is so situated that she must ere long take the front rank among all the States as a producer of MANUFACTURED GOODS, and when that time comes the value of agricultural products, of stock, of the dairy, of her mines and fruit farms will equal in combined value, if not exceed, those of any of the other States. We are not wild enthusiasts that we make such an assertion, but we know thoroughly the capacity and capabilities of our great and beloved commonwealth. So much by. way of preliminary remarks; now for the more practical objects which this pamphlet is designed to promote. THE STATE OF ILLINOIS Contains nearly 58,000 square miles of territory and about 37,000,000 acres, the greater part of which is or can be made productive. The amount of surface occupied by hilly ranges, undrainable swamps and sandy plains is remarkably small when compared with the whole. Along the southeast border of the State the Wabash river supplies an outlet for numerous small streams and is navigable for a considerable distance from its confluence with the Ohio, which forms the southern boundary and unites with the Mississippi at Cairo. This latter river forms the west boundary of the State and along its bank is found some of the most favorably located situations and soils for orchard and vineyard culture. At one time Alton was the most favored spot in the West for fruit and market gardening, and may with truth be called the first seat of intelligent horticultural effort in Illinois, and is to-day one of the favored spots, though other and newer lands, with better railway facilities excel it in the quantity of shipments. At Warsaw and Hamilton also located on the banks of the Father of Waters are situated a large number of prolific and profitable vineyards as well as great apple orchards. These points are no exception and are only referred to because the business of fruit growing, like every other appears to concentrate itself around certain points, not because the soil is better, but for the reason that example is contagious and when once a business is established conveniences for shipping and reduction of freights is sure to follow and thereby induce still others to embark in the business in the near vicinity. THE ILLINOIS RIVER Also intersects the State from north to south and is navigable from Alton to Henry and with the completion of the Chicago drainage canal, steamers may run APPLE ORCHARD IN UNION COUNTY. Fruit Growing in Illinois. 13 its entire length and tie up beside the wharves in the Garden City. Along this river are thousands of bluffs which are unexcelled for the growing of fruit of all kind. The peculiar loess formation of the soil in many places also gives it a superior advantage for the growing of grain and vegetables. But all the good locations for orchards do not by any means lie along the banks of these rivers or beside the smaller streams which feed them. Millions of acres of just as desirable land lie within a five-mile limit of railways, of which Illinois possesses more miles than any other State. Covering as it does nearly six degrees of latitude from north to south, and containing soils as varied as the most fastidious can desire, there is very little, comparatively of the surface of Illinois that is not or cannot be made productive. The surface in all sections is sufficiently undulating to afford good drainage, and in those sections where the surface is more rolling but very little of the soil is untillable from the presence of rocks or rocky ridges. No one can describe the relief a man feels who has been used all his life to pulling stumps and piling stones when he first works in Illinois soil. The steel moldboard of his plow inverts the soil without a break from one end of his farm to the other, if he so desires and to a depth limited only by the strength of his team. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. While the state is divided into three districts, Northern, Central and South- ern, the division is more judicial than practical as there are three grand divisions in which the Supreme Court of the State holds alternate sessions. Agricultural^ and Horticulturally such divisions do not exist, for the products of one are almost always grown in the other districts with the single restriction that nature has placed upon all the products of the earth, some requiring more heat and sunshine to mature than others and fixing the boundary beyond which there may be no profit found in growing them. It is this question of profit that must guide us in making selection of a location for fruit growing. The EARLY SETTLEMENTS. of the State were made at the south and north ends, those settlers who came from the South bringing with them the customs, habits, grains and fruits of that section, while those who occupied the North brought New England ideas, grains, fruits and vegetables. For many years what is now known as the Central divis- ion of the State, was comparatively an unknown wilderness except along the courses of a few rivers. The south end of the State produced in great abundance a class of fruits whose varieties were entire strangers to people who lived nouth and vice versa. At the south there was no demand for commercial fruits for there were no large cities and no means of communication except by boat if there had been. Almost the same condition existed in the north until the opening of railways made Chicago grow and consequently made a market for the surplus grown in that region. For many years com' 14 Fruit Growing in Illinois. mercial orchards and small fruit farms paid good dividends and would to-day were the same conditions present. The demands of a large city for milk, butter, cheese, hay and vegetables at large prices caused the growing of fruit to be neglected and as the old orchards with their many worthless varieties and non-bearers died out, new ones were not planted, and many sections which formerly produced abundant yields of apples are now buyers in other markets. To some extent also the opening of railways in the central and southern portions of the State and the virgin soils for the first time made available for fruit culture caused many fruit growers to seek locations in those sections. The earlier season further south had much to do with this for then as now the first fruits always re- turned to the grower the most profit. Land was also cheaper owing to its remoteness from market, although it produced crops of all kinds that frequently challenged be- lief. All that was required was to tickle the soil with the plow, plant a tree or vine and the most gratifying results appeared. This change of condition came about in Northern Illinois with the year 1865 when the close of the war threw a million of men, most of them young and active into civil life and caused a demand for the opening of new States until then unthought of by the most enthusiastic. ^ DIVERSIFIED CROPS. The effects of diversified industry and products to which we called the attention of the reader in the cases of England and France apply with equal force to the individual as well as to the Nation or State. The man who devotes his whole farm to one crop, may for a time be very successful but, sooner or later force of circumstances, change of climate or of demand will compel him to grow more than the one crop. The tendency at present, however, is toward and will con- tinue to be toward specialties, on the farm as in the factory, or among professional men. The farmer who has been brought up to grow grain or stock finds no time to grow vegetables or fruit but instead prefers to purchase them from some one who devotes his time to their production. Small fruit growing is working out of the hands of large producers to some extent, and the planting of great commer- cial orchards will soon give another direction to that branch of the business. In some respects this is to be regretted, but as diversified agriculture will continue to be the rule in northern and central Illinois, no wide expanse of country will suffer from the loss of a crop of apples, as is sometimes the case in other states where the diversity does not exist. Granted then tha. a diversified system of farming is the most profitable, especially for the man of small means, and with a growing family, all of whose members can be made useful in a great variety of ways in the lesser operations o? fruit and vegetable growing, it becomes our duty to seek for a suitable place to begin operations. The first thing of all perhaps to select, is a healthy loca- tion with salubrious climate and fertile soil. The first of these is the most essen- tial, for without health there can be no happiness. Fruit Growing in Illinois. THE GREATEST DESIDERATUM 15 of all, however, is a suitable market, for of what value is an article for which there is no demand. Why locate even in the Garden of Eden, if the crop of apples, pears and other fruits, rots for want of consumers. The market of all markets, we who have studied this subject for years from a practical standpoint, believe we possess without a present or prospective rival. Geographically the State occupies nearly the central point between the Atlantic coast and the Rocky Mountains, and its south end very nearly the half wa} r point between the Canadian border and the Gulf of Mexico. Natural and mechanical obstacles prevent the production of fruit in large quantities in some of the surrounding States, and large areas exist which must seek supplies else- where, and Illinois appears to the observer as the most natural place in which they should be sought. Its railways reach out in every direction, and there is hardly a village in the State which might not ship fruit in car lots to the remotest point in the Union without breaking bulk. For years Chicago has been, and probably always will, remain the chief dis- tributing point in the Northwest for fruits of all kinds. All roads lead to Chi- cago, and will continue to do so until the requirements of business and population make a change necessary, an event yet far in the distant future. NORTHERN ILLINOIS \ is practically given over to the growing of crops which go to feed the inhabitants of a large city and a manufacturing population, for it is full of small manufacturing cities which consume at good prices, the dairy products, the vegetables, poultry, eggs, and small fruits of the surrounding farms. It is said that the land in this section is too valuable to devote to fruit growing, especially to apples, pears, cherries and plums, though there are now in existence many orchards whose owners derive a greater revenue from them than from any other portion of the farm, at the same time treating it with a neglect that would be fatal to any other crop. There is no reason whatever why Northern Illinois should not become a com- petitor with the rest of the State in supplying a portion of the demand for orchard and small fruits, except the general one that once a community turns its attention exclusively to one industry or one branch of agriculture, that it is hard to prevail upon its individual members to engage in something they admit may be profitable, but with which they are not perfectly familiar. All varietiesof small fruit, such as strawberries, currants, blackberries, rasp- berries, gooseberries, etc., are as much at home in Northern Illinois as anywhere in the Union, while grapes, cherries, plums, pears and apples, can be made profit- able with the selection of varieties which are prolific and hard}\ There is hardly a village in the whole section which, in the time of ripening of the local crop of small fruits, has a sufficient supply for home use, while the farmer’s table that has an abundance is the exception, not the rule. This condition will exist to the 16 Fruit Growing in Illinois. end of time, like original sin, and no amount of preaching or of good example, will remove it. Northern Illinois is most favorably situated with regard to markets. Nearly every township is within six hours by express of Chicago, while the lumber regions of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the wheat fields of the two Dakotas, are not much farther removed; while several trunk lines traverse the whole sec- tion whoso branches reach to every part of the Northwest, West and Southwest, where an almost unlimited demand exists for the products for which the district is noted, as well as for those which . t might supply, was once the attention of its farmers called to their cultivation. The farmers in this section possess an advantage over those in other portions of the State, for the reason that their markets is largely at their own doors, thus doing away with the cost of transportation, as well as the commissions of the middleman. This permits the marketing of fruits and vegetables in a more mature state than when shipment by rail is made to a distant point, which is also of value to the purchaser, who can always be certain of securing a good article, for the man of whom he buys is generally known to him, and self interest pre- vents the palming off upon customers of immature or worthless articles, an obser vation which cannot always with truth be made of those who ship to a distant city. GENTJML ILLINOIS which includes all that section of the State known as the “corn belt,” and which may ^e said to begin near the north line of Livingston County, extending as far south as Pana, to the marl soil which near there, with few exceptions, continues southward for more than a hundred miles, until the hills which extend across the State from East to West are reached, is much larger and possesses a greater variety of soil than either of the other sections, and a more extensive list of pro- ducts can be grown. Although noted for its great fields of corn, oats and wheat, for its immense meadows, and the number of its horses, cattle and hogs, its production of fruit is by no means insignificant in value. Large orchards of apples ma} 7 be found in every county from the Indiana to the Iowa line, a distance of some two hundred and forty miles. It is in this section that many of the largest nurseries for the propagation of all kinds of fruit trees are to be found, and from the earliest set- tlement the quantity and quality of its tree fruits have been admitted. Any one who has attended -the annual State Fair during the past thirty-five years, must have been forcibly struck with the magnitude and beauty of the various exhibits from that section as well as by the general excellence of individual varieties; the completeness of the displays and the great number of varieties of the different kinds of fruit. Much of this is due to the local nurserymen, many of whom are fruit reisers as well as tree growers, who seek to inculcate by example what they preach in theory. It may be said with truth that given an intelligent and con- scientious nurseryman in a given locality, that the yield of fruit in that vicinity will be greater, owing to his example and instruction, than in a place where such Fruit Growing in Illinois. 17 a man Is not located. We might cite many cases to prove this, such as Princeton, in Bureau County; Bloomington, in McLean; Champaign, in Champaign, and Freeport, in Stephenson County, near all of which places large nurseries have in former times exerted an influence, and in some of them yet work for the increase of that “art which doth mend nature!’’ This section of the State, in addition to producing a large yield of apples, pears, etc., is admirably situated for the production of sweet potatoes, vegeta bles, asparagus, small fruits and melons, all of which find a ready market at no great distance. This division of the State is devoted in a large measure to grain and stock raising, and in it the farms are generally larger in area than in the other divisions, for the reason that diversified farming is yet in its infancy, the population being more sparse and having few manufacturing towns to make a market for the more varied products of the orchard and the garden. For this reason more attention is given to those products which the general market demands, and which will bear transporting a long distance to market and not spoil in transit. It may here be said that this very condition also makes a market for many of the products of the garden, and it is no unusual thing to see a “big” farmer purchasing fruit, vegetables and melons in the village, for the use of his family, when his own senses as well as interest, should teach him that an abundant supply could be grown much cheaper at home if he would but plant the trees and garden, and devote a portion of the time he spends in growing corn to their cultivation. The market among this class, while it takes a large quantity in the aggregate, is dif- ficult to reach by the producer of fruit, for the reason that the farm houses are so far apart that it is impossible to reach them economically. We are not so sure, however, that a wagon carrying fruit and vegetables might not with profit be run in many agricultural communities. This is a condition not a theory, and we make the suggestion for what it is worth. Central Illinois is the home of the apple and pear and peaches may also be grown with profit, although there will be an occasional failure, as there fre- quently is in the most favored localities, notably in Delaware, Michigan and Southern Illinois, all noted for their peaches. Small fruit maybe produced in such abundance as to even astonish the fruit grower from what are called the favored spots. Yields of strawberries of one hundred bushels per acre are not unusual, while raspberries, blackberries and currants, are like productive. A yield of twenty pounds of Concord grapes per vine three years planted is not unusual, while the quality is unexcelled. May or Richmond cherry trees frequently yield two to four bushels at eight years old, and there is always a market, it being a favorite fruit for canning. When can- ning establishments are common to every neighborhood as they must, in time, become the demand for this fruit will be comparatively unlimited. It supplies an acid craved by the stomach at all seasons, and we feel assured that a more free use of the sour cherry or of its juice, would relieve many of the stomach troubles to which humanity is now subject. Recognizing the fact that the market for apples is practically unlimited, 18 Fruit Growing in Illinois . many proprietors of large farms have planted extensive orchards. Formerly the planting of an orchard was an experiment, but at the present the varieties which may be relied upon to yield a profit are well known. No planter of sense would think of accepting as a gift such varieties as Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, or any of the Pippins, once famed in New York and New England, and he would look with suspicion upon all the tender skinned and often tender wooded varieties which were the favorites of fruit-growers forty or fifty years ago. Experience has taught that only those varieties which came early into bearing, which produce a good yield under most circumstances, and with a hardy- body to withstand the fluctuating temperature of our changeable winters, should be given a place in a commercial orchard. Among the varieties found most profitable are the Ben Davis, Willow, Rawles Janet, Minkler, Missouri Pippin, Grimes Golden and Jonathan. This list may be extended to suit localities, but the less number of varieties in an orchard the better. The list of summer and fall apples that are hardy and produce abundantly is very extensive, but as the demand for these is limited and must be governed largely by local conditions, we do not deem it necessary to devote any space to their discussion, furtner than to say that among the best known and most profitable are the Red Astracan, Duchess of Oldenburg and Maiden’s Blush. These are all hardy and withstand a much lower temperature than ever occurs in Central Illinois. Pears as yet may be called a luxury in nearly all Central Illinois, though why it would be hard to tell. The average farmer contents himself with planting a couple or at the most half a dozen trees, and then turns them over to the charity of a drove of cattle or treats them with neglect. “Pears don’t pay,” is the com- mon remark, and yet where they are given as much care as apple trees, many varieties bear profusely and a most excellent quality. As in the case of apples, location must determine what kinds to plant. While the statement is true that both Northern and Central Illinois are in their entirety capable of producing unlimited quantities of fruit and vegetables, the fact, nevertheless, exists that SOUTHERN ILLINOIS possesses a soil and climate, which in the estimate of practical men, make it par excellence the home of all the fruits grown in its latitude anywhere. Covered originally over nearly half its area with a huge growth of forest trees which attested the fertility of the soil and a favorable climate, it was so far removed from market except by steam or fiat boat, that its forests were comparatively untouched when the other sections had become well settled. The prairies of the interior were considered valueless for any practical purpose, but time has demon- strated that the soil is admirably adapted to the production of hay, wheat, small fruit, and especially apples, large orchards of which are to be found along or near the railways. When the Illinois Central railway first penetrated the hills of the Grand PEAR ORCHARD IN UNION COUNTY. LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA 21 Fruit Growing in Illinois . Chain, and the sound of the locomotive whistle awoke the sleepy inhabitants from their lethergy, and opened a market for their products of which they had never dreamed, but few of the natives realized the capabilities and opportunities that were at their doors. Slowly, one by one buyers of fruit from Chicago made their way to this region, which in the language of that day was called Egypt, from the fact that in years of scarcity the residents further North had gone there for corm but which term was soon made to mean intellectual darkness, from the supposed obtuseness of many of the original inhabitants who resisted progress until it pushed them aside. The size and quality of the peaches and the beauty of the apples as well as the healthy growth of the few native pear trees excited the wonder and curiosity of the outside world, and soon attracted;the attention of nurserymen and others from the North, who saw the opportunity and took advantage of it, so that at the present whole townships may be said to be given over entirely to fruit and veve- table culture. ' ° To the man used to working a prairie farm the allurements of Egypt with its wooded hillsides and stumpy fields were not great. The labor of chopping off the trees, rolling and burning them, for at that time there was little or no demand for either lumber or wood, formed an obstacle to %is mind not easily overcome. Yet one by one the settlers came and occupied the thCh available ground. Fruit growing at this time was only in . . ITS INFANCY, and the mistakes were more numerous at first than the successes. Varieties brought from the North proved valueless, and years were often devoted to the culture of trees to result only in disappointment when the period of fruitage arrived. Gradually, however, experience has brought wisdom, and to-day the intelligent fruit or vegetable grower of Southern Illinois plants with as much con- fidence and gathers with as much certainty the accident of season excepted as though his business was an exact science and governed by inexorable rules. ’ Since the war great mills have sprung up which make a market for the native forest trees, and immense beds of coal are found under almost this entire section giving occupation to a large population, and also creating a home demand for fruit. New railways have also opened up new fields, and practically there is no portion of Southern Illinois that does not possess an easy and direct outlet to market. THE SUNNY SKIES of this section remind one of Italy, which lies exactly in the same degrees of lati- tude, and have often caused it to be called the “Italy of America.” Many fruits and vegetables grow only in a tropical clime here arrive at perfection. Sweet Sher vefeTw ^ ^ 6X061 th ° Se Sr ° Wn JerS(>y in ( i ua,it y. wh »e the list of other vegetables grown to perfection would fill a catalogue. Nowhere in the world are there larger fields of strawberries, and nowhere do they reach a higher 22 Fruit Growing in Illinois. degree of perfection than on the sun kissed hills and prairies of Southern Illinois. Although the extension of railways southward has removed to a certain extent, the business of supplying early fruits and vegetables from Illinois to States fur- ther South, the fact yet remains that for supplying the market with great quan- tities of fruit and vegetables at prices which the masses can afford to pay, South- ern Illinois is the main reliance of the entire Northwest. Berries gathered in the morning of one day reach all portions of Illinois in time for the early marketing of the next day, and b> noon many of the people in cities of Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan, have the berries on their tables almost as fresh as though just gathered from the vines. In. the strawberry season, the Illinois Central and other railways run trains made up exclusively of cars loaded with berries, which are run on express time in order to reach market at a suitable hour. In what other State may a location be found where a train of thirty or more cars loaded with strawberries, the most perishable as well as the queen of fruits, is rushed across the country to market at lightning speed? The same thing is done with early vegetable trains, with tomatoes, peaches, and later with sweet potatoes and apples. We might dilate upon the size and beauty of the other fruits produced in this section of our State, but do not think it necessary. Everywhere the rasp- berry and the blackberry grow wild in the greatest profusion, and many of the wild canes produce fruit which even the cultivated varieties do not excel, show- ing conclusively that nature designed this for a small fruit region. If any one questions our assertions let him take a trip and visit any of the noted fruit grow- ing centers in Southern Illinois, and he will be convinced that what we have said is the truth but half told. After all, that may be said this region is peculiarly fitted for the PRODUCTION OF THE APPLE. Here it arrives at its greatest perfection in size and beauty. The elevation gives almost an entire freedom in spring from damage by late frosts while the season being longer the fruit ripens and colors under the rays of the autumn sun, giving a size and a finish or color that even the famous climate of California cannot rival. In this section many varieties are grown for the early market which cannot be so profitably done further north. Practically Southern Illinois has the monop- oly of the early apple trade, sending to all sections of the Northwest, and no reason exists why it should not continue to do so for all time to come. The orchardist in Illinois is not dependent upon some water company for success. While his trees are small, crops of corn, potatoes, berries and vegetables may be grown in the same ground without detriment to the trees. So soon, how- ever, as the trees begin to require nourishment for the ripening of fruit, all intelligent orchardists cease trying to grow two crops at once, but instead feed the tree, or should do so to enable it to maintain a healthy condition by means of which it only can continue to be of value. Fruit Growing in Illinois. 23 There is here no place for indulging in a panegyric over certain varieties, there are a few favorites for market that are common to all of Illinois, others which suit one locality and not the other, all of which are more or less profitable, but whose value to the planter must be determined by the experience of men who-have tried them in the different sections of the state. It has however been uniformly found that Ben Davis, Wine Sap and Rome Beauty are every where successful and that in some localities other varieties are equal favorites. In planting orchards in Southern Illinois hardiness of tree cuts no figure for never in the history of the section has there been so low a temperature as to injure a tree. Much attention is now being given to the growth of Japanese plums and persimmons, and no reason exists why the English walnut may not be grown to perfection. THIS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Also has another advantage for it contains within its borders abundant and cheap material for the making of barrels, boxes, crates and baskets in which to ship its fruit. This is an important factor, for all dealers know that fruit in new, clean packages sells for a better price than an equally good quality packed in dirty or second hand packages. The attention of commercial orchardists has of late years been turned to the south half of the State as a desirable point for the planting of LARGE COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS. And while many of the counties posses a world wide reputation for wheat and flour, much of this land is now or shortly will be planted with apple orchards. The sums for which crops of apples have been sold in past years, are almost beyond belief. Men have frequently sold one crop for enough to pay for the land and all the expenses of culture, and so confident are others of reaching success that the size of their orchards is limited only by their ability to buy the land and trees. When we state that land in these counties may be had at from ten to twenty-five dollars per acre we tell the simple truth which can^be verified by a visit to them. ARE THERE DRAWBACKS? The reader doubtless asks himself, why if these statements are true that the field has not been entered upon ere this? “There are certainly drawbacks of which no one can learn until dear experience has exposed them.’’ Such is not the case, although as we have said there are always some disappointments to fruit growers as well as to others. It will be remembered that with the building of the Pacific railways and the settling of difficulties with the Indians in the then territories of Nebraska, Dakota, Colorado, etc., a great effort was made by the railway companies to in- duce people to go west and settle. The liberal, but perhaps questionable “Home stead law,” drew the young men and those with little capital to the west, and for 24 Fruit Growing in Illinois. twenty-five years after the close of the war men, women and children .hurried through the states of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa to the Eldorado beyond the Missouri, hoping to become suddenly well to do, if not wealthy. Now peojfle are beginning to discover that the “boomer” states are inferior in many respects to the ones that were passed so hastily and blindly over, and as a result more in- quires than usual are being made for lands in Illinois. For this class of inquirers these pages are written. THE KING OF FRUIT. If such a term may be permitted, is the apple. Growing as it does to greater or less perfection in nearly every state of the Union, its use is as general as that of any other commodity, sugar not excepted. One may dilate upon the beauty of an orange grove; go into ecstacies of enthusiasm over the aroma, color and taste of the fruit, yet it is but a luxury and always will remain such. The man or woman who seeks to satisfy the craving of hunger with an orange, seeks in vain though we readily admit that a sweet ripe orange is always grateful to the palate and cooling to the system. The growing of lemons, figs and dates may be poetic but we must remember tliau only a small section of our area is suitable for the growth of citrous fruits and Tiat the demand for them does not keep pace with the production. We do not say this to discourage anyone from seeking to en- gage in the growing of citrous fruits if they have a liking for it but to call atten- tion to the fact that there is another side, other than the rosy one so often painted to the home-seeker, by men Avho have land to sell or are interested in some water or flume company. The apple, however is a STAPLE ARTICLE OF FOOD either raw or cooked, and as satisfying to the appetite as any vegetable produc- tion. Whatexcels for delicacy an apple cooked and eaten with sugar and cream? What more satisfying to the appetite than bread and butter and apple sauce? What pleasure of the imagination can for a moment hold its own with the re- collection of the apple pies that “mother” made when we were boys, and which often served to reward us when we were good, and whose coveted squares were refused us as a punishment when naughty. Apple dumplings is a dish familiar to every American and the term a household word. Who, knowing the many methods by which the apple is and can be made palatable can deny that it heads the list of fruits and is justly entitled to rank as the monarch of all. It is the first fruit mentioned in scripture, and though to its first eating the most ills to which humanity is heir is attributed, still we must think that there is certainly some mistake about this, considering the part that the apple has borne in the economy of the nations who inhabit the greater part of the temperate zone. As this article is not intended to discuss varieties, or when or how to plant, it would be a work of superorogation to select a list of apples, and for informa- tion on this subject we refer the reader to the various published lists, or better PEACH ORCHARD IN UNION COUNTY. Fruit Growing in Illinois. 27 still, to a personal examination of localities where inquiry will at once disclose which are prolific and which failures. We do not advise any one to engage in the business of planting orchards of untried varieties even though they promise well, the beaten track is always safest though the scenery may not be so attractive as another which promises a shorter cut across lots. Our attention so far has been devoted to the edible and market value of the apple in its natural state. There is however another condition in which it finds a ready and increasing market, viz: as cider. CIDER MAKING as generally practiced is a wasteful and unsatisfactory process. A large share of the juice goes to waste in the pomace, which the average press is unable to extract. A large share of the stuff sold as pure, cider is guiltless of apple juice, but is manufactured of ingredients known only to the chemist. If pure when it leaves the manufacturer it soon becomes so diluted that it has more kinship to the pump than to the cider press, and the market for pure, sweet cider is in con- sequence less than it should be. Of late years many processes have been employed to keep it sweet from one season to another, so that those who desire may secure it fresh at all times. Its greatest value, however, is not as a drink, but as the foundation and stock for VINEGAR MAKING. Our legislators have not as yet succeeded in enacting a law to prevent the imposition of unhealthy acids upon an unsuspecting public as “pure cider vin- egar,” although frequently asked to do so. Ultimately we think they will be convinced that the use of chemicals as vinegar is deleterious to health, or, if they cannot be convinced of that, they may be brought to see that it is as much an imposition to sell a customer acid for cider vinegar as it is to sell oleomargarine for butter, and to prevent the swindle pass a law making it a misdemeanor to sell either under a false name. Although in general we have not much to learn from foreigners, we might with profit adopt many of the laws of Germany or England which require a strict supervision of the articles sold as food, to prevent the sale of dangerous or unhealthy articles and compounds for what they are not. When it is made a misdemeanor punishable with a fine for any one to sell vinegar under the name of PURE CIDER VINEGAR which is not genuine, a reform in this direction will follow, and a market for the surplus fruit of our orchards will be opened that will astonish the fruit growers themselves. Owing to the competition of the acid vinegars sold under the name of “cider or apple vinegar,” no great amount of capital has been invested in the business 28 Fruit Growing in Illuiois . of making the genuine article, but we are confident that with the increase of our orchards such manufactories will spring up. The capital required need not be large, but the market is assured. At present there is little uniformity in the pure article, for the average orchardist who has but a few barrels of cider to turn into vinegar has no facilities or does not think it worth while to take the time to make his product uniform, hence one barrel is excellent, another is poor and the third of decidedly bad quality. A manufactory located conveniently to the orchards, taking both the surplus cider and unmarketable fruits and making a staple article of standard cider vinegar is certain to succeed. With this branch of the business fully developed, another source of profit will be opened to the small producer of fruit as well as to the large one, for while the latter may work up all his windfalls and fruit unfit to market on his own premises, the small grower can dispose of his in bulk to the vinegar maker. CANNING AND PRESERVING. This industry is yet in its infancy and very few realize the extent to which it may be developed. Our small fruits and many of our vegetables might be canned with profit, but capital will not come in until there is an assured supply during the entire season, for no one article alone can be made profitable. The business is steadily growing, and in time we hope to see in every township a fac- tory which will take the strawberries and other small fruits, the cherries, plums, peaches and pears and put them on the market in cans or in glass, and then when the grandest of all fruits, the apple, ripens take the surplus and work it into jelly, dry it, press it into cider and turn that into vinegar. Then with a certain market for all his crop the orchardist and small fruit grower can be assured of satisfactory returns for his surplus fruit. There is also a demand for fruit juices for the compounding of many articles, and thousands of dollars worth of cherry, raspberry and other fruit juices are annually imported from foreign countries. With a soil and climate much better fitted for the production of these fruits than that whence the juices are brought, it would seem a shame that we send our money abroad when it could be just as well employed at our own doors. In conclusion we desire to call the attention of BUYERS AND EXPORTERS OF APPLES to the Illinois orchards. Heretofore the business of growing apples has been mostly in the hands of small producers, but that day is passing away. There are now localities in abundance where a car load or ten car loads of one variety may be had. Formerly a few barrels of one variety only were for sale; now this is changed. In a few years, when the young orchards now just coming into bearing have developed, there will be no complaint that car lots of one kind can- not be had; in fact this objection has even now lost its force. The superior quality, the beautiful color and the uniformity of Illinois apples are bound tq Fruit Growing in Illinois. 29 make them favorites in the markets of the world. In fact, we can see no more profitable avenue open to the capitalist than to purchase Illinois apples in the fall, place them in cold storage and seil them out at a good price in June and July of the next year before the advent of the new crop in the market. With full faith that the correctness of what we have said about the Horti- cultural qualities of Illinois is fully substantiated by the facts, we ask you to come and investigate for yourself; then if our soil, our climate and our market does not suit you, we can only wish you God speed to some State where the roseate hue of the pictures painted of climate, of soil, of wealth, of health, form an attraction hard to resist, and whose persistent telling has made even the relaters believe them to be truth. FRUIT CROP STATISTICS. The system of gathering the statistics of yield of the fruit grown is very crude and amounts to but little beyond guesswork. The average farmer who has an orchard of a hundred or more trees does not generally know how many bushels of apples his trees produced, and it is seldom that even the commercial orchardist has complete figures of his sales even. No account is taken of the tens of thousands of fruit trees in the small cities and villages, and we believe that we speak within the bounds of reason when we say that not one-half the product is returned by the assessors. The statistics which we supply below are those gath- ered from the assessors’ reports, which we know are by no means complete, and which give probably not to exceed one-half the value of the fruit sold. We do not therefore submit them with a view of showing the immensity of the fruit yield in the State, but to call attention to what basis we have for the statements made in the preceding pages. The reader will observe that there is nothing said of the yield of raspberry, blackberry, currant, gooseberry, plum, cherry, quince, apricot or persimmon, which taken together must have equalled in value that given for strawberries. It may also be wise to note that taking the State over the crop of fruit grown in 1892 was far below an average one; in fact, apples, peaches and pears did not yield half an average. 30 Fruit Growing in Illinois . Table showing the returns of fruit for the year 1891 and 1892, together with the value for both years. NORTHERN ILLINOIS. 1891. Value. 1892. Value. Apples, bushels 1,232,132 $1,626,414 166,626 $221,231 Peaches, “ 13,494 26,950 6,134 12,558 Grapes, pounds 742,378 29,640 486,710 19,145 Wine, gallons 43,750 42,890 27,858 27,106 Strawberries, value 27,106 20,405 $1,753,000 $300,445 CENTRAL ILLINOIS. Apples, bushels 712,639 $812,408 145,877 $167,395 Peaches, “ 55,410 88,096 22,051 35,124 Pears, “ 1,695 2,949 757 1,318 Grapes, pounds 888,061 29,395 654,156 21,699 Wine, gallons 42,248 30,418 21,406 15,534 Strawberries, value 19,491 13,699 $982,757 $254,769 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. Apples, bushels 1,034,708 $910,543 258,329 $225,845 Peaches, “ 263,431 355,631 167,295 152,390 Pears, “ 18,932 8,084 9,173 Grapes, pounds 288,800 8,981 177,758 5,535 Wine, gallons 19,755 17,779 14,465 13,947 Strawberries, value 138,299 132,075 $1,450,165 * $538,965 Total value in entire state, 1891 $4,185,922 “ “ “ “ “ 1892 1,094,179 Estimated value other small fruits, 1891 232,000 “ “ “ “ “ 1892 198,745 [LLINOI