282 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANKAKEE 



situations everything in the apple line blights or is killed by the 

 winter, unless it may be some seedling grown by Gideon and others. 

 And right here is where the lesson taught by their energy and per- 

 severance in experimental work should be heeded by us in Illinois, 

 for, with all those difficulties to contend with, they are going right 

 along growing and testing new seedlings by thousands, and have the 

 Russians well scattered, in some places doing well and failing in 

 others. 



Peter M. Gideon was the pioneer in growing seedling apples in 

 Minnesota, and firmly believes nothing will stand the test winters 

 without crab blood in it. Twenty-four years ago he planted a few 

 seeds of the Cherry Crab, procured in Maine, and from this lot he 

 grew the Wealthy, which bore fruit in seven years from the seed. 

 He then kept crossing his crabs on the Wealthy and other sorts that 

 he could keep alive long enough to fruit, until he claims he has 

 twenty or thirty varieties better and hardier than Wealthy, and 

 some of them better keepers. He now plants annually the seed 

 from a hundred bushels of apples, and says his success has far 

 exceeded his most sanguine expectations. He is located at Excelsior, 

 in the latitude of St. Paul. Ten years ago the State purchased the 

 farm he is now on for experimental purposes, gave him money and 

 told him to go on in the good work. He has tried many of the 

 Russians, but claims they will not do on that farm, as they all blight 

 and die ; but he has one of those bad locations — warm, loamy soil, 

 — on which apple trees bloom two weeks earlier than they do one 

 mile distant on clay soil. 



And it gets slightly cold occasionally. Three years ago fifty-five 

 degrees below zero, killing Duchesse and Wealthy to the ground, 

 but his other named seedlings came through unscathed and bore a 

 good crop of fruit the next season. In Wisconsin also, the experi- 

 ment work goes bravely on, Peffer, Phcenix and many others are 

 growing seedling apples. And Loader has been experimenting with 

 the strawberry for thirty years, and is more enthusiastic now than 

 when he first began. He has now seventy varieties beside the Jessie, 

 of undoubted merit, and is only waiting to see how Jessie will adapt 

 herself to all localities and soil, before sending out other candidates 

 for public favor. But the trial, testing and experimental work now 

 being prosecuted in Iowa will most likely benefit us most, as they are 

 more nearly on our parallel of latitude, but of the labors of Prof. 

 Budd and others in that State you are all well advised. 



But what shall we say of our own State touching the above 

 named line of work, we can say that Piper, Bubach and Warfield, are 

 meeting with some success in the seedling strawberry business. And 

 Gaston is pushing the Hennepin apple. A chance seedling that he 

 found growing in Putman county. And this is all that comes to 

 mind. What a showing for the great state of Illinois, where we should 



