first planting of orchards. Yet no such root killing has ever before swept entire nurseries, young orchards and vineyards out of existence, no varieties escaping. The “Iron-clads” were wiped out with the tender varieties. The Concord grape and Snyder blackberry, which had heretofore withstood the severest winters known in Iowa, were mostly destroyed or seriously injured. Iowa nurserymen were obliged to import trees and vines from States further south to supply their customers in the spring of 1899, and it was very difficult to find uninjured nursery trees anywhere in the upper Mississippi valley. The older orchards of apple trees were much less damaged, many escaped with slight injury. The State Horticultural Society made searching investigations into the causes which produced the widespread devastation, but there was a great difference of opinion as to causes and remedies for the future. The report of the secretary says:
“Perhaps no one can crystallize into a brief statement all of the many causes which resulted in so much damage to the fruit industry of the State. Some of these causes may be traced to the past few dry years in which the subsoil lost much of its moisture; to the cool air and rains of the last decade of October which stimulated an excessive root action late in the season; to a long cold winter without a blanket of snow to protect the soil from the alternating extremes of freezing and thawing.”
The damage was not confined to fruit trees, vines and bushes; red clover, evergreens and many varieties of forest trees were killed and such as survived were seriously injured. No such general damage to evergreens and forest trees was ever before known in Iowa.
The Prohibitionists held a State Convention at Des Moines on the 23d of May, 1899, and nominated the following candidates for the various offices: Governor, M. W. Atwood; Lieutenant-Governor, George Pugsley; Supreme Judge, H. F. Johns; Superintendent of Public Instruction, D. S. Dunlavy; Eailway Commissioner, A.
