7 
MEADOW VALE EXPERIMENT GROUNDS. 61 
each year. Some of those trees are in a perfectly healthy condition. They 
were cn their own roots. 
I have not found one tree of American wild crab (Pyrus ioensis) injured 
in the least; they were in bloom and fruited in the fall of 1899. This grows 
wild here and seems to be hardier than they are farther south. I have a num- 
ber of small trees and some just commencing to bear, and I intend to try 
some experiments with them, which I will report later. 
In the spring of 1898 I planted seed of several varieties of our hardy, 
half hardy and tender varieties of apples. These were planted in sections 
in an exposed situation. In the spring of 1899 some of the kinds were en- 
tirely killed, while others were in good condition and made a fine growth 
the past summer. The minimum temperature the past winter was —42°. From 
January 27 until February 12 the temperature did not rise above zero. 
Among the new fruits originated here is a very valuable seedling black- 
berry and two plums; one that is very fine for eating and one for cooking. 
One oi these seems to be proof against the curculio. 
OWATONNA TRIAL STATION. 
E. H. S. DARTT, SUPT. 
The Owatonna tree station was established by the legislature 
for the purpose of testing fruit, forest and ornamental trees. I started 
in under rather adverse circumstances. I was to run the tree station, 
but I had no compass to guide me, nothing as a precedent, and I 
had to depend entirely upon my own resources, or I might say in- 
telligence, in conducting the work of the station, and although I 
was under the control of the superintendent of the farm school, yet 
my instructions were to use my best judgment, and I have done so. 
I have not had any instructions, but managed the station as in my 
judgment seemed best. I secured from the growers all over the 
country their best and hardiest varieties to the extent of two or three 
hundred varieties. I planted seeds of the Quaker Beauty and Minne- 
sota crabs, and | have grafted each year by selecting the most prom- 
ising of these seedlings, so that now I have grafted in the neighbor- 
hood of five hundred varieties, and have them growing and num- 
bered. 
I succeeded by girdling in exhibiting one hundred and fifty 
varieties of apples at the state fair. A good many of them were rather 
small and perhaps of no account, but in selecting those small apples 
I generally select keepers, and a good many of us know that the 
small apples are likely to increase in size as time advances. I under- 
stood a man to say that the first Wealthy apples were only of medium 
size, and some of the small varieties I girdled last year, and which 
were placed on the crab list this season, I was obliged to put on 
the apple list on account of their increased size, and I believe it is 
safe to conclude that those which are brought into bearing by gird- 
ling will have larger apples in the future than they have now. 
