The following, written by W. C. Flagg, Esq., Alton, Illinois, well known as one of the most intelligent fruit-growers at the West, and Secretary of the State Horticultural Society, we take from the Prairie Farmer, one of our most valuable Western exchanges, and truly a farmer's paper. This record has reference mainly to Madison and St. Clair counties, and is of great value to every thorough lover of fruit-growing:

"In the American bottom within the limits of Madison and St. Clair are found pear-trees of from seventy-five to perhaps a hundred and fifty years of age, planted by the French habitant in the good old times of French domination. Perhaps the first orchard planted by an American in the county of Madison was that set of seedling apple-trees by Samuel Judy, in section 5, of township 3, 8, about 1802 or 1808.

" It was a good many years later before grafted apple-trees were planted. A single tree of Lady Apples was planted in 1819, on the farm of D. A. Lanterman, in section 19, of 5, 8.

"The same year, or a little later, orchards of grafted fruit were set out by Robert Collet and Emanuel J. West, in township 5, 8. Among these trees were Lady Apple, Janet, and Bellefleur. The trees were procured from Burlington, New Jersey, at that time the home of William Coxe, whose work on the cultivation of fruit-trees appeared in 1817. Both of these farms having been leased to a long series of tenants, the orchard trees are now mostly dead.

"In 1822 Gersham Flagg planted an orchard of over five hundred trees in section 8, of 5, 8. Three hundred were seedling trees from St. Clair County, planted in the spring of that year, and two hundred were grafts from the nursery of John Smith, of Bond County, who started a nursery near Greenville in 1818, with stock brought from the nursery of George Heikes, an emigrant from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. Among these we find such varieties as Kirkbridge White, Rambo, Wine, Vandevere, Pennock,

Pryor's Red, Newtown Pippin, Rawles' Janet, and Gilpin.

" Only a few years later a nursery was started in township 5, 8, by a Swiss of the name of Masson. His advertisement, and that of his partner, Robert Collet, may be found in the Western Ploughhoy, an agricultural paper published at Edwardsville, in 1881. Among the forty varieties of apples advertised, are Pennsylvania Red Streak (Wine), Bellefleur, Newtown Pippin, Fall Pippin, Rawles' Janet, Small Ro-manite, Large Romanite, Rambo, Red Russet (Pryor's Red), Seek-no-Further, Hub-bardstown Nonsuch, Porter Apple, Rhode Island Greening, Buckingham Vandevere, Lady or Pomme d'Appie. These were sold at twelve and half cents each, eleven dollars and fifty cents per hundred, and a hundred dollars per thousand. Fourteen varieties of pears are advertised, and a very desirable succession of peaches, extending 'from July 10th till 1st of November.'

"From 1830 onward, fruit culture and general horticulture increased rapidly. Evergreens from the Eastern States were planted about 1838 at Alton and elsewhere. In 1845 Dr. E. S. Hull planted his first peach orchard, whose remarkable fruit did much to attract attention to the Alton region.

"In 1843 vineyard culture was commenced by the Messrs. Koepfli, at Highland, in the southeast corner of the county, and wine was made by them in 1847, from the Catawba grape. Since that period the cultivation of grapes has been considerably extended in this vicinity.

"At Collinsville extensive plantations of the raspberry have been made in the last few years, under the bluff and on the 'American Bottom.' The product of one field sold in 1865 for $7,000.

"At Troy, Julius A. Barnesback has been very successful with a small orchard of an acre of dwarf pears, which he mulched with all the straw from forty acres of wheat. Under this apparently weighty covering the trees have grown and borne fruit excellently well.

"Between Edwardsville and Troy there are numerous old orchards with whose history we are not familiar.

" Strawberry culture about Alton has increased considerably during the last few years, fifteen thousand pounds haying been sent from Alton in a single day through the express offices, during the present season of 1867."