128 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



orchard, containing" about 1,000 selected seedlings, all of which are 

 from the Surprise, which I regard as the most promising variety 

 from which to raise seedlings in hopes of getting something better 

 than we now have. We have also added to our seedling apple 

 orchard, but the amount of land available for this seedling work at 

 the experiment station is very limited, and we cannot get what the 

 work demands. The Board of Regents, however, have decided to 

 ask the next legislature for additional land, which will undoubtedly 

 give better facilities for this purpose. We have raised about 20,000 

 apple seedlings this year, most of which have come from the hardiest 

 varieties growing at the experiment station. 



Hole filled with shrubbery, at Stale Uxperiment Station. 



The horticultural society should have better fruit land than we 

 have here for the purpose of raising and testing seedlings, and I 

 think that a move in this direction should be made as soon as may be. 

 Our apples produced rather a small crop this year, but the fruit 

 was of very good quality. We have seeded down the Russian 

 orchard to clover, with the intention of breaking it up again next 

 year. I think it a good plan to occasionally seed down orchards 

 with some leguminous crop, in order to add humus to the soil, so 

 that the soil will be in better condition than it could possibly be in 

 with continued cultivation without some grass or clover crop. 

 Nevertheless, I believe the best treatment for our orchards is clean 

 cultivation, with the exception of an occasional seeding down for 

 the purpose named. 



