SEEDLING FRUITS, ANNUAL REPORT, I906. 183 



son as the rest of them did. It did not have the abiUty to main- 

 tain itself up to the best color up to May, and it was put on exibi- 

 tion at the meeting this fall in very good condition. Now, there is 

 an instance where 'we cannot always tell what an apple is going to 

 do the first year. There are other varieties that we have tested 

 here today which I am satisfied three months from now will test 

 better than they did today, but we had to score them at this time. 

 Just for this reason we need a standing testing committee that 

 shall get together every month in order to test these apples at all 

 times and under all conditions ; then there will be a fair test. 



Now, referring to the exhibition at this meeting, Prof. Green 

 and I judged them as we thought they would stand, and we have 

 gone over them two or three times and examined them very care- 

 fully. We have decided that this is the highest in the winter class, 

 (exhibiting apple), this Decker seedling. While it has not the 

 color that many of the other varieties have, it has the quality that 

 makes it a first-class commercial apple for cooking, and it is going 

 to take the place of the old Rhode Island Greening when it is 

 propagated and put under cultivation. There are two trees of it 

 in existence. Two sprouts came up where the tree died and the 

 man split the stump and planted out two trees, and he sent apples 

 from each tree here last year and year before. I have kept track 

 of it for four years. It is firm and solid and will keep up to May 

 all right. It is a very clean apple. 



Mr. Johannesohn : What is the name ? 



Mr. Elliot : Decker's winter seedling. 



The President : How does it compare with the Northwestern 

 Greening ? 



Mr. Elliot : It is fully as good, a little sharper acid. 



The President : Have you seen the original trees ? 



Mr. Elliot : I have not seen them. 



Mr. Busse : How was it kept until May ? 



Mr. Elliot : It was kept in ordinary root cellar conditions. 



Mr. Philips : I believe it grows near Austin. 



Mr. Elliot : Yes, it grows near Austin. The next best seed- 

 ling is this (indicating), which scored ninety. This it not so 

 large, but it is higher in quality. I handed a piece of it to Mr. 

 Patten, and he pronounced it very good indeed. This one (indicat- 

 ing), kept clear up to May and was shown at the summer meeting 

 in good condition. This is the Coates' seedling and has never been 

 grafted. It is of a fairly good size for a seedling. When it is cul- 

 tivated and propagated it may increase or decrease in size, we do 

 not know yet, but I have advised him to top-work and let us know 

 as soon as possible just what it will do. 



This is a plate of pretty nice apples (exhibiting), and they tell 

 me it is a fairly good keeper, but we have thought that it ought 

 to be classed as earlv winter, and for that reason it did not score 

 as high as if it had keeping qualities. That scored eighty. 



