302 ANNUAL REPORT 



The boxes are returned, as they will bear re-filling several times. 

 The bark from which they are made, is stripped in June and pressed 

 in flat sheets before drying. We have watched the making of these 

 sensible boxes with much interest. The boxes from willow bark 

 are also used, but are not strong enough to pay to fill the third 

 time. 



THE FRUIT AND CLIMATE AT VOLSK. 



VoLSK, Russia, Sept. 9. 



We have been tiring ourselves out in the old work of rambling 

 through parks, gardens and orchards, near this ancient cily of cen- 

 tral Russia. We are on the border of the dry steppes reaching into 

 central Asia. It has not rained here for weeks, and such commin- 

 uted dust we never know in Iowa, yet on our table we have such 

 an exhibit of large, highly-colored and really good fruits as we caa 

 not gather at Des Moines. Yet, hot and dry and sunburned as the 

 far-reaching plains now are, the winter temperature reaches 50 

 degrees Fahrenheit in extreme winters, often without a particle oi 

 snow. As a rule there is more snow here than in Iowa, but the 

 time of the first snowfall of winter is very uncertain. Sometimes 

 the lowest temperature is reached before the mantle of snow is 

 spread. Hence only such fruits, trees or shrubs can be grown as 

 will endure the heat and drought of a semi-desert summer, and a 

 semi-arctic winter. 



THE PROFESSOR STILL MORE ASTONISHED, AT SARATOFF. 



Saratoff, Russia, Sept. 13, 1882. 



This really beautiful city on the border of the elevated prairie or 

 bluff on the right bank of the Volga (about 700 miles north of 

 Ames) may also be called the Garden City. It is literally sur- 

 rounded with great orchards. Within two miles of our hotel, in 

 this city of 100,000 inhabitants, we visited to-day an apple orchard 

 of 12,000 trees, which this dry year did not produce as great a crop 

 as in more favorable seasons, yet 25,000 pouds (36 lbs. to the poud) 

 have been shipped to Moscow from this orchard this season. Two 

 years ago the crop sold was S5,000 pouds or 153 car-loads of 20,000 

 lbs. each. The proprietor, Mr. Patiskieff, has also a large pear 

 orchard adjoining, which also proves very profitable. This orchard 

 is only one of the very large commercial orchards near Saratoff. 

 Ten versts distant is one nearly double the size of the one noted, 

 which we did not visit as we were told it contained the same vari- 



