THE MINNESOTA 



HORTICULTURIST. 



VOL. 35. DECEMBER, 1907. No. 12. 



EXPERIMENT WORK AT COLLEGEVILLE. 



REV. JOHN E. KATZNER, COLLEGEVILLE. 



Last winter was rather a severe one and in some respects 

 harder on trees than the preceding one. The temperature in St. 

 Cloud went down to 42° below zero. For four weeks we had a 

 continued cold from 10° to 38° below zero. The weather was so 

 unfavorable last spring that the vegetation was about four weeks 

 behind time. Only on June 12th did the apple trees come into 

 full bloom. The varieties of fruit trees recommended by the 

 Minnesota State Horticultural Society came through the winter in 

 very good condition ; they are now growing and doing well. 



Some trees, however, suffered badly. I am sorry to state that 

 the Wealthy and Peter grafted on Pyrus baccata, which you sent 

 me a year ago, froze down to the snow line, and one Wealthy and 

 one Hibernal of the twelve trees planted two years ago for the ex- 

 perimental work of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society froze 

 down to the snow line the same way. Two of these twelve trees, 

 one Charlamoff and one Hibernal, showed the first blossoms. Other 

 varieties that were frozen or badly injured are : Russian Borsdorf, 

 Thomson Seedling, Wolf Seedling, Minnetonka, Kaumps Seedling 

 and Red Duck. The cherry trees which had been affected by mildew 

 the last two years are now dead. The other cherry trees suffered 

 some too and showed no blossoms last spring. 



We have set out about 100 fruit trees, mostly apples, in part 

 to replace those which were frozen last year. A few hundred 

 grafts of apples, plums, cherries and pears have been set out and 

 are now starting to grow. The pear scions I imported from Ger- 

 many, but I do not think them hardy enough here. Yet I have 

 to try and see for myself before I accept the common opinion 

 that pears will not succeed in Minnesota. I have been trans- 

 planting two seven-foot high black walnut trees, and at present 

 it seems the work has been successful. In July, 1906, I cut off the 

 tap root and laterals on one side, dug out the trees in fall, heeled 

 them in over winter and set them out last spring early. Now 



