Discussion. 59 



been very nearly ruined. I had six St. Lawrence and five 

 of them are in good condition. I had five hundred Fameuse 

 and nearly all of them died; I had nearly two hundred Utter 

 trees and there are not five of them that are any good to day. 

 They are trees that have been out ten or twelve years. 

 Our experience commenced with the llussian apples some 

 fifteen years ago. We thought then as we think now, that 

 coming from a country where the climate is more rigorous 

 than in this, we had faith that we could grow these fruits 

 here, and that belief was strengthened by the fact that the 

 Russian trees were out of our own. We expect to get some- 

 thing out of these trees. We expect to get out of the 

 hundred or more varieties that we have been testing some- 

 thing like five or ten that will help make Wisconsin an 

 apple growing state. I think we shall get the requisite 

 number to make this an apple growing state, from early to 

 late ripening varieties. We have probably something over 

 eighty varieties growing this year, many never fruited 

 before. We have enough to fill the places of the old sorts, 

 and give us apples equal in appearance, and equal in all 

 respects to the old sorts we have been growing. To-day as 

 I look upon my old orchard and see the amount of dead 

 trees, it seems discouraging. This spring I went through 

 and cut out those that were not hardy. Of the Russian 

 varieties in the Russian orchard I have lost one tree. I had 

 two trees of the kind of this tree and one of them is killed. 

 I got one tree that proved to be White Astrakhan, it was 

 formerly considered a good and hardy tree, but out of five 

 trees of that kind that came under the name of the Green 

 Transparent, out of the five, four of them are dead. These, 

 like the Red Astrakhan, come from the northern [y\ part of 

 Russia, but the balance of the trees are as thrifty as any 

 trees have ever been in any part of the United States. I 

 have several varieties that I think excel the Duchess as a 

 good bearer. As a general thing they are early bearers, 

 abundant bearers, and attractive as show apples, and of a 

 good quality. Now I don't eat many apples. It is very 

 seldom that I eat an apple. I had the Fameuse and two 

 other varieties in my cellar, from early last fall until I took 



