The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-11-21
[ MUM Der Is.
FRUIT CULTURE.

RU1I CULTURE.
The progress in fruit culture in this
country has been one of the most graf
flying advances that this enterprising
people have made in any direction.
Looking back a few years ago to the
East, we find the family orchard. but
no considerable idea Of making fruit
culture business. There were hun
dreds and hundreds Of farms from
which an apple was never sold, and
there were just us many upon which
the whole crop was never gathered, be-
cause there was more than was needed
for consumption by the family, and
feeding fruit to animals was not gen.
eral custom then. Indeed, it has not
been very long ago that the West was
in the same condition. Fruit culture
as q business is of comparatively re-
cent date everywhere in the country.
| About all that has been done looking
to making the growing of fruit prom
lnent branch of mixed husbandry,
or a business of itself, has been done
within the last quarter of a century.
1t could not be expected that the West
at its first settlement would be very
much different from the East. The
early settlers came from that section,
and of course came with the habits and
the ways Of doing things, which they
had learned from their fathers. Gen.
orally they appreciated the desirability
Of having enough fruit for family con-
sumption but nothing more But even
this conception included the apple, as.
a rule. There were scarcely any pears,
plums, peaches, cherries, grapes, or
raspberries in the West twenty-five
years ago.
But in that twenty-five years how
much has been learned, and much of
what we have learned has been taught
Dy costly experience. Experience, how
ever, is a good teacher, even if it is an
expensive one. In no business or de
partment Of life is it more expensive
than it often proves in fruit culture.
}Of this hundreds will testify, and
, while they do so, they will acllnoWl
ledge themselves to have been largely
to blame. Pomology is very attrac-
tive business, and when the attention
has once been directed to it, ambition
is very apt to cover leap ITSELF" and
the result is failure and bad failure.
Probably the greatest difficulty in the
, way of success has been in adopting
: Itoo great a number of varieties. Hor-
: ticulturists, we believe, are very gener-
| ally of this opinion. Year after year
the inexperienced and enthusiastic
: fruit grower, perfectly enchanted with
the business, has been presented with
, new varieties. and their merits have
been extoled in such eloquent language,
: that the temptation was entirely too
great to resist. Then it took long
: time to find out just exactly what they
were, and when at the end Of this
, time, it was learned that they were
good for nothing, the disappointment
was OF course very great. Indeed,
= such things have discouraged not d
, few. who, if they had stuck to old and
, we'll known varieties would now be,
| and for many years would have been,
r enjoying a remuneratiye profit from
the orchard
The best advice which THE IVES
TERN RURAL thinks it can give the be-
ginner in fruit culture is, stick to the
we'll known varieties and select even q
few of them. Not long ago we heard
:, pomologist say that he formerly rec
commended about forty varieties, but
that in the light Of experience, he had
cut down the list to a dozen or fifteen.
AS to what varieties we shall select,
there is some difference Of opinion, but
in the Northern States perhaps the fol-
lowing are among the best of the prin-
G pal fruits:
Apples Red Astrachan, Lowell,
Maiden Blush, Rhode Island Greening,
Baldwin, Northern Spy, Red Canada,
20-Ounce Apple and the Green Sweet
ing.
Pears-Flemish Beauty, Seckel, Bart
lett and Louise Bonnie de Jersey.
! Peaches-Crawford, Hale's Early
and Barnard.
Plums- Bradshaw, Lombard and
Washington.
Grapes-Concord, Delaware, Clinton
and Iona.- Western Rural.