FRUIT. 247 
located many hundreds of miles away, which have been 
necessarily grown under the different conditions, and in most 
cases, will be of varieties that will not live in this climate. 
Local nurserymen, who have been struggling with this 
problem of hardiness for years, are more apt to offer only 
the best varieties. The tests on the experiment farm have 
not been made under the best soil conditions, and growth 
has not been vigorous. 
Some idea is being obtained of the relative hardiness of 
the varieties. Of the apples, Hibernal, Pattens Greening 
and Duchess in favored localities, are recommended for trial. 
Of crabs, Martha is perfectly hardy. Virginia and Transcen- 
dent should be tried. If other kinds are planted, they should 
be only those advertised as extra hardy. In this section ap- 
ples should always be set out in the spring. 
Plums.—The varieties of American or native plums are 
nearly all perfectly hardy here and will grow upon sandy 
soil as well asclay. They will succeed therefore in many 
places where apples will fail. Toobtain a cropseveral kinds 
must be set out neareach other. Someplums ripen too late, 
and the varieties marked early should bechosen tor planting. 
The orchard on the farm, set out in 1899, bore in 1902 a 
very good crop of plums. The best plum tested was the 
Cheney both in earliness and size. It will ripen in any sea 
son. The Aitkin is not a vigorous tree nor a good bearer, 
but as it blossoms at the same time as the Cheney it is rec- 
ommended for planting with it for the pollenation of the 
flowers. New Ulm and Wolff, both do well on poor soiland 
ripen in an ordinary season. Weaver ripens but was small. 
It will probably do well on good soil. DeSoto, Rollingstone 
and Surprise are too late in ripening to be safe here. It is 
recommended that a wide use be made of these plums, as the 
chances of failure are very small. 
Reforestation.—In order.to investigate the cost and prac- 
tibility of re-stocking the land with pine, which is too hilly, 
rocky or sandy for agriculture, a number of acres were laid 
off on the west half of the northeast quarter section and 
planted in 1900 to white and Norway pine. The trees used 
had been furnished by the Bureau of Forestry in ’98 and had 
grown two years in nursery rows. Whentransplanted they 
were a foot to eighteen inches high. This was too large. 
They should have been moved a year earlier. The growth 
was retarded a year by the transplanting and the cost was 
probably 30 to 40 per cent greater than for treesa year 
younger. The cost of digging, transporting one-half mile in 
wagons, and planting, was a little less than one-half cent for 
each tree. The trees were set at equal distances each way. 
The cost per acre depended on the distance apart they were 
