Communications- and Miscellaneous Papers. 269 



Executive Committee — W. A. Springer, chairman; A. V. Balch, 

 E. W. Wrightraan. 



Delegate State Society — W. A. Springer, Fremont. 



J. Wakefield, Secretary. 

 COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 



SIBERIAN APPLES. 



The progress made and the present condition of fruit growing 

 in our state is truly a triumph of intelligence and perseverance 

 over great natural obstacles. On the first settlement of the state 

 the pioneer fruit grower soon found that in local conditions and 

 climatic tendencies he had entered a new world. Old varieties 

 soon proved worthless and old principles of culture failed ; new 

 methods had to be sought out, new varieties tried. The light of 

 science and experience was employed to overcome the mountains 

 of difficulty, and to stem the tide of failure and losses. Much 

 was accomplished, but the progress was slow. A generation of 

 earnest, zealous workers have given their lives, their energies, to 

 the work. Some of them have fallen by the way, overcome by 

 the burdens and los-es incurred; others have reached mature 

 years, and are enjoying the harvest, the result of their faithful 

 labors. What has been the result? Forty years of most perse- 

 vering effort has given us less than one-half our state for success- 

 ful apple growing, and that with less than a score of varieties 

 accepted for general culture, and a far smaller number for commer- 

 cial orcharding. 



The question is, what shall we do for the vast area of more 

 than twenty-five thousand square miles unprovided for. Eighteen 

 of our northern and central counties are practically not within 

 the range of our recommended lists ; for not one in a hundred of 

 plamers therein can safely follow our recommendations. For the 

 souchern half of the state the data for safe planting is assured in 

 our most hardy natives and Russians, and the immense crop of 

 1880 showed the possibility of our growing, for our own use, at 

 least in the southern counties. The northern half of our state in 

 the permanent elements of civilization, is in the infancy of 



