Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-03-15
now deploring their almost uniform

now deploring their almost uniform
failure.
In the report of the genealogical
society of Ohio, for 1864. Dr..
Peticolas devoted pomologist Of
Mount Carmel of that State. com
plains that out of more than one
hundred varieties Of apple trees in
bearing, that it was difficult to Sc
lect six kinds Of good, merchant
able, winter apples, because of the
impcrfection Of the product, and
" 1t is really humiliating to think
that We who, few years ago,
boastcd of the superiority of our
fruit, as compared with that Of our
friends-of western New York
should now be obliged to acknowl
edge that they surpass us. Now
why is this? Why should such
change have taken place? No such
alteration, that I am aware of, has
taken place in the east; their apples
are as. fair and as good now as they
were twenty or thirty years ago"
Here he goes on to specify some Of
the varieties that were formerly
productive, but now have partially
or entirely failed, but though he is
satisfied from long observation that
this trouble is entirely due to the
variableness of the climate, yet loses
sight of the cause of that.variablc-
ness, and asks the question. "Why
should our climate have become so
different from what it was former
ly?" We have already anticipated
the answer to this question; and in
looking over the agricultural re-
port for 1865, l notice Mr.. J. S.
Lippincott, very able writer, in
his "obscryations on atmospheric
humidity" abiding to, this same
article. Page 53s, confirms the
view We have taken, as do other
eminent pomologists almost every
where. Lippincott says, CDR.
Pcticolas we'll remarks that no
change has taken place in the eli
mate of western New York, where
apples are as fair and as good as
they were twenty or. thirty years
ago-failing to perceive that the in
jury to the apples of Ohio has arisen
from the changes man has wrought
upon the country by indiscrimi
nate telling Of the forests. He did
not perceive that the climate Of
western New York was preserved
uniform in it's measures of atmos-
pheric humidity, and protected in
a great degree from those extremes
OF which he complains, and which
are not only extremes of cold, but
also Of dryness, quite as unfavor-
able" The favorable proximity Of
the great lakes is of course, the pro-
lection here alluded to.
Twill quote but one more author
ity in this connection, General J.
I. Worthington ofChillicothe Ohio,
in the Ohio Pathological Society's
report for 1864, says. II become
every year more convinced of the
necessity of belts of trees in our
climate of extremes, to protect the
annual crops from the late frosts and
the fervid suns of July, August and
September; and verify believe that
if one third ofthe land were devoted
to belts Of fruit and other valuable
trees, the remaining two thirds
would produce as much as the whole
without such shelter, even in aver
age years, and far more in extreme
ones; but | fear it is too early to
preach planting trees to genera
ton which considers it the chief
end OF man to destroy them"
l might extend these references
indefinitely, and cite authority
whose words are entitled to far
more consideration than any thing
which l could say from any positive
knowledge of my own, but time
and space forbid. Permit me how
ever, in this connection to urge the
Importance of more thorough
study Of this subject, by perusing
not only the authority referred to,
but all others you can find. Get
the agricultural reports, send to
Charles Scribner Of New York, for
Geo. p. Marsh's work entitled,
'Man and Nature; or, Physical
Geography as modified by Human
Action" read them, and be protitcd;
teach your boys to read them too,
cultivate i'll them, the love of the
beautiful, as well as the valuable in
nature: give such literature as the
New York Ledger, and all its worth
less kin, wide berth; such stuff is
only published to pandcr to the
morbid tastes of idle brains; your
boys or girls, have little time to
waste, over this worse than useless
trash.
The great want Of the age is more
intelligence in the agricultural, and
genealogical callings. Our young
men of spirit, fly the farm, to rush
into the strife of trade, and pro
fessional life, already crowded to
repletion, and leave the less active,
to fill the higher station, of develop
ing the grand resources of physical
nature, and Of furnishing the world
with its life giving products; and
because the men who should have
been their strength have deserted
them, they are compelled to battle
fecbly with the demon of selfishncss,
which in the protcan shape Of cor
porations, boards of trade, or other
monopolies, seeks like a vampire to
fattcn upon their blood, onlytor the
very reason that they are weak.
But to return from this DEPRESSION,
we think we can see from the con-
siderations before us bright hopes
for the future of the west, for Iowa.
Although the storm cloud seems to
lower in the horizon, yet there are
visible traces of the ."silvcr lining"
There is no longer any doubt, but
that Iowa can raise fruit, and good
fruit too, and in abundance, not
withstanding all the unfavorable cir
Fcumstances surrounding. Exhibit
tons of its productions at different
fairs, i'm and out Of the State, have Set
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