108 Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society. 



The Bessemianka, Tonkavetka and other pears from central Russia have 

 maintained perfect foUage, except sUght injury by the pear leaf mite, and the 

 terminal points of the shoots were as clear and bright last spring as the wood 

 of the Russian poplars. 



Our apples of the grade of hardiness of Ben Davis, Jonathan and Dominie 

 were defective in leaf the past two years, and last winter were irreparably 

 ruined. On the other hand, our old varieties from the east plain, or their de- 

 scendants and over two hundred varieties recently imported, started from 

 the terminal points where grown upon rich garden soil. 



Yet our collection is t(ju varied for any one experimental station of the West, as 

 it embraces varieties which will do best in the Missouri belt, and varieties 

 which should do best in the belt of North Dakota and Minnesota. If the ex- 

 perimental work could be distributed and each of the belts across the valley 

 I have tried to indicate cotild experiment with the products of its corres- 

 ponding section of the east plain, the work could not fail to result in advanc- 

 ing our horticultural interests. So far, in talking of 



RUSSIAN FRUITS 



We have not taken into account the enormous extent of the empire. We 

 do not want the fruits of St. Petersburg or of any part of the coast section 

 within three hundred miles of the Baltic. That we do want the fruits of the 

 provinces named in this connection I am equally certain, if properly dis- 

 tributed over our great valley. We must never forget that we must have in 

 our valley, from the Missouri belt northward, varieties of all the fruits that 

 will maintain perfect health of foliage, or we can not expect paying crops of 

 perfect fruit. A tree may endure our winters passably well, yet on account 

 of leaf trouble during our dry, hot summers, it fails to develop the cell struc- 

 ture of the wood in the perfect way needed for holding and perfecting the 

 fruit crop. With the aelvent of varieties as perfect in leaf as the Duchess ap- 

 ple, the Bessemianka pear, and the Vladimir cherry, we may expect a show 

 of blossoms, to be followed by perfect fruit. 



The crying want of the Mississippi valley is well emloived experiment stations. 

 With their aid we may be able to walk without the leading strings, which so 

 far in our history have been furnished us by the nurserymen of the eastern 

 States. 



DISCUSSION ON THE PAPERS. 



The President — These papers are both good, and you have them 

 before you for discussion. 



Mr. Gibbs, of Minnesota — Mr. President, I am convinced that 

 the great study in pomology for the West and Northwest lies in 

 the direction indicated by this paper of Prof. Budd's, For the pur- 

 pose of aiding the members of this Society, I will put on record a 

 few facts as to what has already been done in regard to it. 



