42 NEBRASKA STATR IIORTrCt'LtTinAL SOCIETY 



Davis and Winesap. In 1879 six more varieties were added, only one 

 of which (Duchess) is still retained. 



In 1886, recognizing that luirdiness and friiitfulness is very largely 

 a question of location, the society divided the state into three districts, 

 Northern, Middle and Southern, and recommended a separate list for 

 each district, in all forty-three varieties were recommended, nearly one 

 half of which have since been discarded as not worth planting in Ne- 

 braska. 



Later the state was divided into nine districts, and in lOOf) into 

 nineteen, with a list of forty-eight varieties, thus furnishing a list that 

 has been tested in every part of the state, and a list of varieties that 

 are best adapted to each locality. 



Thus was built up our recommended list, which I think, needs some 

 revision; a few should be dropped, and a few others added. This list, 

 however, is the latest knowledge of the adaptability of the different 

 varieties of apples to the several fruit districts of the state and it is 

 intended as a guide to planters, particularly those starting in Nebraska. 

 It is an epitome of the experiences of the fruit growers of all parts 

 of the state, covering a period of nearly one-half a century. I refer 

 back to this work to show you that this kind of work, in order to be 

 reliable, must of necessity require years of patient painstaking labor 

 and investigation, and therefore, we must not be discouraged if we 

 do not at first meet with the measure of success we hoped for in the 

 line of work we are now entering upon. 



The society has also a general list of all other kinds of fruits; 

 also of forest and ornamental trees, shrubs and plants, which rests on 

 the same basis of experience as the apple list, and serves the same 

 purpose as a guide to planters. 



Not only has this society collected information about the varieties, 

 but it has secured a vast fund of information about cultural methods 

 on the different soils of the state, methods of planting, of cultivation, 

 of fertilizing, of pruning, or cross pollination and spraying; in fact, in 

 everything pertaining to orchard management, which information, like 

 varieties, is based on actual experiences and is always available to the 

 orchardist. It is hardly worth while for me to go into detail in these 

 matters, as they will be fully brought out in the papers and discussions 

 later on. 



This has been the principal work of the society in the past and ha.s 

 resulted in good to the planters of the state which, is hard to esti- 

 mate. 



The first planters made very many mistakes fron?. lack of proper 

 knowledge of adaptability of varieties and numy worthless sorts were 

 planted, but most of these earlier planted trees are gone. The present 

 day planter has all of this infornuition at his command, and can avoid 

 these earlier mistakes. The secretary will send this information to any 

 one applying. While we have been learning w'lat arieties to plant in 

 the several parts of tlie state we have discovered some other important 



