3G Wisconsin State Hoeticultubal Society. 



that will adapt itself to this climate, even under the unfavorable 

 conditions mentioned as existing in St. Croix county, so that our 

 children, if not ourselves, will be able to plant orchards, with the 

 reasonable expectation of eating the fruit thereof. 



Mr. E. Wilcox, of La Crosse, took exceptions to the statement 

 of the speaker, that the plan of grafting standards on crab roots 

 had proved a failure. It was far from doing so with him. All 

 his stock, both in orchard and nursery, except some Duchess 

 bought of Mr. Stickney, stood on crab roots, and was doing well. 

 He would like to have the members visit his grounds and judge 

 for themselves. It was true that he had met with set backs and 

 losses, but his trees stood better, were more hardy and thrifty 

 than standards on their own or on seedling roots. The statement 

 that his plan dwarfed the growth was not correct, as he had re- 

 peatedly demonstrated by showing young stock thus propagated 

 side by side with standard stock. Some of those present had a 

 chance to see for themselves at the state fair a number of years 

 since, and expressed surprise at the large and stocky growth of 

 his trees, compared wiih those propagated in the old way. In 

 regard to the claim that there was no affinity of stock betwetn 

 the standard and the crab, he would admit that some kinds would 

 not unite well, and that a beetle would form at the graft ; but 

 there were other kinds that would unite and would make a smooth 

 and continuous growth, and by selecting the kinds that thus unite 

 we can get a smooth and perfect tree. He budded a large por- 

 tion of his stock and thought the union was stronger and more 

 perfect than where grafted. 



Mr. Stickney said he was very sorry that Mr. Partridge was 

 compelled to give us such a gloomy report of orchards in his 

 section, and that the prospects for the future were so unpromising. 

 He did not believe it was possible to secure the necessary hardi- 

 ness in standard trees by grafting or budding such stock on crab 

 roots. If not sufficiently hardy on its own roots, it is difficult to 

 see how it is going to secure greater hardiness by being grafted 

 on to roots whose habits of feeding and growth are entirely dif- 

 ferent from the stock itself. There can not be affinity where the 

 habits of growth are so dissimilar, and we cannot hope for hardi- 



