THE 



HISTORY OF HORTICULTURE 



isd: I N ]sr E s o T A. 



The history of horticulture in Minnesota, of the attempts, the mam' failures, 

 and finally, the successes of the pioneers in this undertaking, so vital to the 

 prosperity of the State, and the welfare of the people, is one of the most in- 

 teresting of the kind on record; because, in contrast to the labors of fruit 

 growers in lower latitudes, the lines of experiment have been almost infinite 

 in variety, and uncertain in first results. As a matter of course,. therefore, 

 these efforts have been confined to comparatively few persons in a case 

 seemingly so difficult to achieve success. 



But whilst the climate and soil have demanded constant experiments look- 

 ing to new and hardy varieties of fruits, varieties to be had only by patient 

 trials of numerous kinds, the history from year to year of this important 

 enterprise, shows that the State has, from the first, been favored with the pres- 

 ence of a few determined and enterprising men who have never wearied in 

 their noble and self-imposed task ; but who keeping the great and important 

 end in view, could not consent to think of failure as possible, meeting annu- 

 ally, and oftener, to compare notes and to aid each other with their several 

 experiences, the result is at last the announcement of a list of fruits, perhaps 

 as long as is desirable under the circumstances, reasonably certain in pro- 

 duction, and of excellence unsurpassed. 



Xo one can go over the debates held at the meetings of these pioneers in 

 fruit culture from year to year, and not be struck with the constantly recur- 

 ring announcements in their earlier history of losses in trees ; oftentimes on 

 the most extensive scale too ; losses borne apparently of course, and with a 

 philosoph.v commendable in the highest degree. Sometimes seeing itheir 

 trees sutler because of too tender varieties ; sometimes from blight ; killed 

 one year at the root, the next perhaps, at the top; sometimes because of a 

 too late ascertained wrong exposure or situation, and so on, and yet all this 

 we repeat, borne with a patience wonderful to note now. The result has been 

 that out of all these losses, these mistakes and disappointments, and num- 

 berless experiments, that at last a degree of certainty in ft-uit culture has 



