88 Wisconsin State Hokticultueal Society. 



from the claj beds which are f'reqaently found adjacent, with aa 

 annual top dressing of ashes, whole or leached, at the outer drip 

 of tiie trees. Ridging and underdraining should be practiced 

 where the soil is retentive of water. Very many otherwise good 

 locations for an orchard are " springy," and should be under- 

 drained, or a deep head drain should cut ofi the source of this 

 superabundant water in the subsoil. Surface evaporation may 

 render them dry enough for ordinary farm crops, but the subsoil 

 may be saturated six months of the year, to the certain injury of 

 the fruit tree growing in it. The subsoil of the orchard in the 

 north must not be reteotive of water. 



Varieties — As the apple is the king of fruits for the north, 

 I will commend any variety that, with fair eating and cooking 

 quality and fruitfulness, has proved generally adapted to a given 

 locality. But long experience is nee led for such test, and only 

 such exceptionally severe winters as the past can give us that 

 absolute test which is conclusive. Where now are Ben Davis 

 and Pewaukee in all this region? Gone to the shade? with most 

 of the old eastern varietie?, and even Fameose has suffered badly. 

 Indeed we have seen beating trees of Duchess and Hyslop killed 

 to the ground in many unfavorable lo3alions. We had hoped 

 much from the new Waupaca seedlings, which for remarkable 

 size and beauty were some of them competitors for honors and a 

 place in our ornamental list, but now our own experience leaves 

 us nothing but the W^olf River of the real worthy sort'«. In some 

 sections, the new Russians were injured to quite an extent, none 

 showing so many good qualities as our old Duchess. Yet we 

 have hopes of getting some really valuable northern fruits from 

 the many now on trial. To Minnesota and Mr. Gideon belong 

 the honor of originating, in the Wealthy, the one variety above 

 all others, which will help the north to an abundance of really 

 good fall and early winter apples. 



Sauk county gives us the McMahon, a large white apple of 

 Russian type, very tender flesh, pleasant acid, productive, and 

 exceedingly hardy ; fall and early winter. We might enumerate 

 other apples of fine quality and productiveness, which show 

 themselves very hardy. But in the improved Siberians we have 



