The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-02-23
For the Guardian
Fruit Culture.


Fair, and exhibiting apples and grapes
grown in Dubuque County, | met very
many Eastern people who looked with
amazement upon those specimens of our
fruit, and declared that such testimony
in behalf Of Northern Iowa, was the bes,
/ that had come to their knowledge.
The Editor of the Cincinnati CONNER
ciat, being present, sent home the fol-
lowing notice. which appeared in theft
issue Of Oct. 4th, 1859:
" Mr.. BEEBEE, of the firm Of HoRR &
BEEBEE, nurserymen at Dubuque, Iowa,
invited the members of the press to spend
a portion of the recess to-day, in partak-
ing of the apples, grapes &c, grown in
that cold and heretofore almost barren
region; his Rhode Island Greetings are
nearly twice the size of those grown al
Rochester, N. Y, and are of excellent
flavor his Fall Pippins are of much
richer color, and both they and the Alex
ander are much larger than the Roches-
ter apples, of the same varieties. This
notice is due that region because the i'm
preston has obtained that fruit cannot be
grown in that climate" Several other
papers gave similar notice.
Now, sir, while our friends abroad arc
beginning TO sound with less certainty
the alarm, that fruit cannot be grown
in that cold and barren region" what
shall the echo be, which goes back TO
them from the lips of our own people ?
The Importance to this part of oul
State that truthfully favorable response
should reach those ofou Eastern friends
who are now or soon will be, balancing
the question of a removal Westward, is
not properly estimated.
Can we reasonably suppose, that those
who have always enjoyed the luxury OF
an abundance of good health giving fruit,
are willing to forego such enjoyment
for the sake of any ordinary pecuniary
advantages? How very necessary then.
that the facts in reference to this impor.
tant matter should be placed before all,
both at home and abroad, for surely the
success which has attended well directed
efforts to raise fruit in this cold and
barren region" has seldom, ever, been
excelled by any new Country. Permit
me to cite few cases in point:
AMBROSE J. MEEKER, near " Table
Mound" in Dubuque county, has an or
chard of apple trees, which he planted in
1912, that has produced bountiful sup
ply of the best of apples for several years
past. From one tree that commenced
bearing in 1852, he has already gathered
nearly 100 bushels ofexcellent winter APP
pies Beginning with only IS apples the
first year, it has rapidly increased in
productiveness till in 81, it yielded the
astonishing quantity of 90 bushels. Mr..
NJ. says that he knows nothing about
bearing gears" in distinction from 9th
er years, for his trees all produce boun-
tifuly every year.
Mr.. DEXTER planted an orchard of
grated apples some 10 or 20 years ago,
upon the farm now owned by Messrs.
HAINEs, y miles west of Dubuque =
That orchard also produced every year,
for several years past, an abundant sup
ply of probably the largest and most
beautiful apples ever grown in any coun-
try. Specimens of II varieties of those
apples were exhibited at the St. Louis
Fair, as already referred to. The trees
for the above named orchards were all
grown from the ground in the same soil
and climate where they now stand, and
are in somewhat protected situations
Yet, in the most exposed localities,
Messrs. JAMES JOHNSON, of Dubuque
county, OrIs WHIrr1MoRE, Of Bowen's
Prairie. and Judge MURDOCH, of Clay
ton county, have raised good supply Of
the choicest apples from trees of hardy
varieties but the late severe winters have
killed, or greatly injured some trees for
them of the tender kinds. Without be-
ing discouraged in the least by these ad :
verses, they only regret their lack OF
knowledge in former years. as to what
varieties were actually hardy, and adap-
ted to this particular climate.
Many more favorable facts could be
stated if time and space would permit
But Of one thing we can rest assured,
that what has once been done, can be
done again, and that, too, with increased
certainty amid increasing light. Of
what avail, then, are all the sad recitals
of failures, either partial or entire, result
ing from planting the tender sorts of I'M
acclim ated trees, often set like posts in
wet or undrained land, neither subsoiled
before, nor cultivated after planting. usu-
ally unfenced and unprotected from the
depredations Of all animals, from cattle