STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 69 



C/ier?7<;« —There are SO few in hearing, that the birds take them all before they 

 are ripe. Early Richmonds planted since 1872, (when the cherry trees were killed 

 everywhere in the west), are found in many places in this district, are looking 

 sound and thrifty. 



Pears— 1 did not see one in the district last year, and know of no sound ones of 

 bearing size. They can be grown well enough on the northerly slopes of our river 

 bluffs ; there are Flemish Beauties twenty feel high at Read's Landing ; hut the 

 blight comes in just when the grower begins to think he is going to have some 

 fruition of his hopes, and that is an end of his pear culture. Give us a remedy for 

 pear blight, and these slopes will till our markets with twelve-ounce pears. The 

 winters will not kill the tree there. 



Plums — Enormous crops of Forest Garden, DeSoto, Weaver and 3Iiner — the lat- 

 ter fruiting for the first time, and just barely saving itself from the axe of the 

 owner b}- offering a show of fruit the last year of its long probation. Enough can 

 not be said in praise of these delicious natives of southern extraction, j'et perfectly 

 hardy and successful here, and as near curcuho proof apparently as any plums 

 can be. 



Grapes -Aliundancc of all sorts, and good quality. I Avould again make mention 

 of the Janesville for its merit of earliness for the benefit of people wishing to 

 plant in low grounds liable to early frosts. 



Apples — Light yield except in a few locations. Local markets fairly supplied with 

 Duchess and Wealthy, of the large apples ; also the common and H3-brid crabs. 

 The large orchards of Underwood & Emery, of this city, owing doubtless to con- 

 stant cultivation during the past few years, distinguished themselves and enriched 

 their proprietors in this off year for apples, by liearing an abundant crop. From 

 one orchard of eight hundred Duchess, planted I think, eight years ago, they har- 

 vested nearly seven hundred bushels, and sold them mostly in St. Paul and Minne- 

 apolis at prices ranging from $1.00 to SI. 33 per bushel, net. From an orchard of 

 twenty-five hundred young Wealthies, bearing this ^-ear only their .second crop, 

 thev picked about three hundred bushels, while their harvest of crabs and Hybrids 

 was estimated at five hundred bushels more, all selling quicklj' for cash at good 

 prices So you see we have at least one place in this district proving that apples 

 can be profitably raised in 3Iinnesota ,and justifying the faith of that long-headed 

 fruit pioneer, P. A. Jewell, who, when he became convinced of the value of the 

 Duchess and Wealthy, for this climate, backed up his recommendation to tlie peo- 

 ple to plant them freely, by setting them out for permanent orchards on every 

 available rod of his own grounds. While it is true that the generality of our peo- 

 ple show little interest in apple culture, not enough to take hardly decent care of 

 the trees they reluctantly buy, there is enough successful orcharding going on in 

 this district, though mostly on a small scale, to impress this conclusion upon me, 

 from extended ol)servations made from year to year, that those who judiciously 

 select their varieties to plant, avoiding the knciwn tender ones, and the bad blight- 

 ers, and then admitting to themselves the fact that the hardiest of our trees need 

 protection, give it to them, together with cultivation and general care in propor- 

 tion to their value as faithfully as any good farmer takes care of his cattle, his 

 iorses, his pigs and his poultry, can raise all the summer, fall and early winter 



