STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 0« 



leaves are off, about the first of November; keep them all in the best possible con- 

 dition till spring. As soon as the frost is out, set out four of them as follows: take 

 one tree that was dug early and one that was dug late, set both moderately deep ; 

 set the other two in the same order, shallow; keep the other two trees closed up in 

 earth, root and branch till the 25th of May, and then plant them out about as deep 

 as they stood in the nursery. About the middle of June give those six trees a care- 

 ful examination, and they will be found about as follows: 



Those that were set early and deep^ will have leaves about the size of a squirrel's 

 ear. The tree that was dug earlj^ will have a dead streak on the sonth side, al.so 

 dead in the forks and limbs; the other tree will be slightly affected on the south 

 side. Both trees will be found to be in a ver}- unhealthy condition. Those set earl}^ 

 and shallow have both made a fair start; the one that was dug early is slightly af- 

 fected on the south side. Those that were set late and shallow, are found to be in a 

 very vigorous and health}^ condition. No defect can be found on either tree. Ex- 

 amine those six trees again, about the 25th of May, the following year. The one 

 that was dug early, set early and deep is found dead; the other one that was dug 

 late, set early and deep is dead on the south side, and inside bark alive on three 

 sides; the two that |were set early and shallow are the ones dug early, and are 

 barely affected on the south side, and other parts of the tree; the one that was dug 

 late is very slightly affected on the south side; the two that were set late and shal- 

 low, are both perfect. The above results are real and well astablished by repeated 

 trials, and can, on philosophical principles, be accounted for. Take for an example a 

 fruit tree that is set early, the ground is cold, the roots remain inactive for weeks, 

 the supply of food and nourishment that is in the wood soon becomes exhausted, 

 and is without any protection until the ground becomes warm, and the roots are 

 excited into action, and by this time the tree is more or less damaged, as we have 

 shown. A tree that is set deep, the roots remain much longer inactive, and of course 

 the tree is more damaged; while those set late, preserved in good condition, lull of 

 sap and vitality, set at a time when the ground was warm, the roots become active 

 at once; the sap circulates through all parts of the tree, and m a very short time 

 will be out in full leaf. 



It is often argued by some, and they ought to know better, that the cold winters 

 of Minnesota kill fruit trees. I think it is an error. A fruit tree that has made a 

 good healthy growth, sap cells completely filled witli sap, and wood rijK', will go 

 through our coldest winters without injury; this may appear strange to some, but 

 nevertheless it is true. Of course if the winter is very long the tree will come out 

 weak and exhausted in the spring, as do your calves and colts when you run short 

 of feed. It is precisely the same with a fruit tree, and for this reason, should 

 never be removed in the spring. The fruit trees of 1872 and 1879 received their 

 death blow before winter set in, from the first of August till the last of September 

 of both years. It had been extremely dry, but a very scant supply of sap was taken 

 up by the roots of the trees; just sufficient to keep them alive and no surplus to com,- 

 plete the growth of the trees and their various organs, and fill them with a supply 

 for winter use. At the commencement of the drouth of each year, had the fruil 

 trees been well mulched with litter or straw, and wet three or four times during 

 those drouths, the trees would not have died. 



There is but one right time to dig all deciduous trees, and that is at the falling ot 



