THE CRAB ROOT AS A STOCK FOR THE MINNESOTA ORCHARD. 3OI 



Owing to this variation in the quahty of soil on high and low 

 land, a person will by trial of a long period even find that he may 

 come to a wrong conclusion as to results. Our land is a little rolling, 

 and if it had not been for the fact that all of the rows were of the 

 same length we should have been misled, so different were the 

 results. 



For obtaining a quick test we have found it to be a good way to 

 plant in soil containing alkali, as by so doing we have found out 

 the difference between the hardiness of the roots, while when they 

 were planted on high land at the same time it would not be pos- 

 sible to see that the cold had any effect on them at all. 



Mr. J. O. Flagstad : I want to call your attention to one of 

 the roots here (exhibiting a part of the stock and one of the roots). 

 He just took one of the trees at random, he did not take the best 

 trees. 



Mr. A. J. Philips (Wis.) : What is the age? 



Mr. Flagstad : Three years. 



The President : The roots are below the graft ? 



Mr. Flagstad : Yes, sir. 



Mr. Elliot: What is the scion? 



Mr. Flagstad: Okabena. 



Mr. Flagstad stated he had the apples examined by Prof. Han- 

 sen, and he holds the opinion that those small red crabs are a seed- 

 ling. 



Mr. Phillips : What is the soil this tree grows in ? 



Mr. Flagstad : A black loam on the surface with a clay subsoil. 



The President : This is a very interesting and valuable paper and 

 is worthy of a full discussion. 



Mr. C. A. Johnson : Why would not the native wild crab found 

 in southern Minnesota and Iowa make a good stock to graft upon? 



Mr. E. M. Sherman (Iowa) : My impression is that it is too 

 slow growing, and the union would not unite properly. 



Mr. Philips : I have tried it, and it seems to lack vigor ; it 

 grows too slowly. 



Mr. R. A. Schutz : The tree grows too fast for the roots, and 

 thus becomes top-heavy. 



Mr. Geo. J. Kellogg (Wis.) : It would be difficult to get seed- 

 lings, and they do not take readily to the scion. It would seem that 

 there was about one out of a thousand that would do well. If that 

 is the character of that little seedling crab, it is certainly wonderful. 

 That is the finest show of roots to produce growth that I have ever 

 seen. 



The President : Do you consider that a fair sample of the roots 

 as they develop, Mr. Flagstad? 



Mr. Flagstad : I have seen thousands of those trees, and they 

 are just about the same, all of them just about the same quality 

 and the same size at that age, three years. 



