204 HISTORY OF HOUTICULTURK IN MINNESOTA. 



Alr^PENDIX 



WIXTKK MEETING OF FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. 



St. Paul, January 10, 1807. 

 A special lueetiiiii- of the Fruit Growers' Association was held at the Court 

 House. The nieetino: was called to order by the President, who briefly stated 

 its object. After choosing Mr. H. J. Brainard, Secretary, Colonel Robertson 

 read the following paper on fruit growing at the extreme north, Russia, &c., 

 prepared by previous request of the Association : 



The object of the Minnesota Fruit Growers' Association is to p]-oniote in 

 Minnesota the ]n-ofltable cultivation of valuable fruits, varieties of which have 

 already become naturalized to the more southern latitudes of our country. 



The importance of this enterprise is made apparent by the fact that more 

 fruit is consumed by 'the AmeiMcan people than by the inhabitants of any 

 other temperate climate. The consumption and demand increase faster than 

 the supply. The popular taste is rapidly improving. The fondness for fruit 

 growing is becoming a characteristic of our people, wiio are not content to 

 make a permanent home where the choice fruits of the North cannot be 

 grown. 



The attempts hitherto made in our State to raise apples, pears and plums 

 have, we must acknowledge, resulted in almost universal failure. Few trees 

 of these fruits liave survived the third year after planting — probably not more 

 than one in three hundred — perhaps not more than one in five hundred. Mr. 

 Stewart's success in raising seedling apple trees may be taken as an average, 

 one tree in ten thousand of his seedlings survived to matunty. 



It is not surprising, therefore, that an opinion generally prevails, that 

 Minnesota is too far North for the successful cultivation of apples, pears, 

 cherries and improved varieties of plums. 



It is consequently of the flrst importance that we should ascertain whether 

 or not, we are within the zone or limits to which the cultivation of these 

 fruits is confined. 



That we are in the zone of the fruits named, facts, I think demonstrate. 

 Our failures have been doubtless owing to want of experience in cultivation, 

 to want of proper adaptation, and to lack of knowledge in selecting varieties. 

 The essential conditions of temperature to insure success, is a sufficiency 

 of heat in the growing season to ripen the fruit and of subsequent cold to 

 force hibernation — or compel the tree to stop growing without killing it. 

 Our summer heat is sufficient ; our winter cold too intense, for most of the 

 varieties we have tried. 



I venture the proposition that in any climate where the summer heat is suf- 



