I42 MINNESOTA STATE HURTICULTL KAL MtClKTY. 



In the spring of 1902 I sent to the Missing Link Apple Tree Co., 

 and as I could not buy grafts I bought fifty apple trees, to get a longer 

 keeping apple. Some of you may remember my bringing a bushel 

 of apples to the winter meeting of this society fhe winter of 1903. 

 The last winter (1904-5) killed every tree of that variety. I had 

 trimmed this supposed "Klondike apple" till I had set 1,000 grafts, 

 and I used as stock to graft on what I thought fhe hardiest sorts. 

 I had, I St., the Yellow Siberian tree, forty-four or forty-five years 

 old ; 2d., the Virginia crab ; 3rd., the Wealthy ; 4th., the Peerless. I 

 grafted all over the Peerless. The tree was of a large size, one of the 

 first set out. It never had produced a peck of apples in any one 

 year, and I thought I would get big returns. I also grafted on 

 three trees of the Gould crab, the last three trees I grafted. All 

 of these three survived and bore heavily the past season. 



Now, I will give you a little of my experience, and I ought to be 

 a wiser man now than in the past as I don't believe everybody. First 

 as to the Yellow Siberian tree, forty-four or forty-five years old. I 

 had grafted on this tree both Malinda and Missing Link; the 

 Malinda are as good as ever but smaller apples. The Missing Link 

 grew rapidly, bore one good crop and died. Second. I grafted the 

 Missing Link on a large Virginia crab ; it bore well one year, and the 

 graft died. Third. The Missing Link on Wealthy had one crop 

 and then the graft died. Fourth. Missing Link grafted on Peerless 

 all died. 



I am keeping the best till last. I grafted three trees of the 

 Gould crab with the Missing Link, trees I have owned at least forty- 

 four years. I obtained them of the Gould Nursery Co., of Beaver 

 Dam, Wis. The grafts did not bear till this year. They never 

 have killed back a bud. They bore a full crop of the Missing Link 

 the past season, such as I show you samples of. If this crab tree 

 imparts hardiness to an apple that would not stand on other hardy 

 stocks, why cannot the Greening, Baldwin and Russet be made to 

 thrive in this climate ? Twenty-five years ago on a Gould crab tree 

 I had sent to a brother previously, when I visited him, I grafted a 

 Pewaukee, and it is now the best long keeping apple on the farm. 

 The Pewaukee top has outgrown the stock below two inches. I 

 have saved some long scions of the Gould crab to get as much of a 

 Gould root as I can to experiment further. While in New Eng- 

 land last fall I obtained scions of the Greening and Baldwin to graft 

 on the Gould crab to obtain further results. 



Mr. C. S. Harrison (Neb.) : I think the Missing Link could be 

 missed very well. I did not think much of the apple wh<^n I planted 



