148 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
REPORT ON SEEDLINGS, 1899. 
J. S. HARRIS, LA CRESCENT. 
During the past season, in the search for and the examination of seed- 
ling apple trees, your committee has visited places and orchards at Wash- 
burn, Excelsior, Waconia, Spring Valley, Austin, Owatonna, Oakland, 
Winnebago City, Delavan, Pleasant Mounds, Winona and Homer. As it 
was not a favorable season for fruit we could not secure samples of many of 
the varieties seen in order to test their quality, and have generally only 
made notes on the condition of the trees. 
In the orchard of J. R. Cummins, at Washburn, we found four varieties 
of apples that did not show any apparent injury from the last winter and 
looked to be as sound and healthy as the Duchess and Wealthy and were 
carrying considerably more fruit than these and other standard varieties. 
One seedling crab or hybrid was noticed bearing a medium sized red striped 
fruit of good quality that keeps well through September, and may be valuable 
if it continues to be proof against blight. 
At Excelsior we visited the trees of the Lyman’s Prolific Crab, origin- 
ated by H. M. Lyman. No better tree than the original, now thirty-two 
years old, can be found anywhere. It shows no weakness, is a strong 
grower and very productive. Mr. Lyman informs us that the fruit ships 
well and takes well in the market. The only objection that can be raised 
against it is that the fruit is rather large for a crab. Young trees in the 
nursery as well as the original came through last winter in perfect con- 
dition. 
At Peter M. Gideon’s place the orchard was producing but little fruit, 
but the trees were generally looking well, and especially so when it is 
considered that for two or three years previously they had been frequently 
stripped of their foliage by the forest tree tent caterpillar. His orchard is 
comprised chiefly of Duchess of Oldenburg and seedlings of his own orig- 
ination, most prominent among them being the Wealthy, Peter, Lou and 
the Florence crab. A considerable number of these seedlings are just com- 
ing into bearing, and several of them produce fruit that bears a striking 
resemblance to the Wealthy, and the trees are of the same appearance and 
habit of growth, but we thought some of them appeared to be more hardy 
and vigorous and probably less subject to blight, and we were assured 
that a few of them were longer keepers. The surroundings of the place are 
such as to invite a tendency to blight. Later we sampled some of the 
specimens of fruit, the flavor and quality of which did not differ materially 
from a well grown Wealthy, but it is very likely that some of them will 
prove to be longer keepers and perhaps better in tree, and as the first fruit- 
ing is not always a true index of the future value they are likely to improve 
under propagation. 
We believe that this orchard should be looked after by our society until 
all of the trees have come into bearing, in order that the fruits of the un- 
tiring perseverance and labor of more than forty years spent by Mr. Gideon 
in earnest efforts to originate fruits adapted to our soil and climate, may 
not be lost to the world. Thirty-six varieties of these fine seedlings were on 
exhibition at the late state fair, and a few at this meeting (Dec. 1899). 
The orchard of the late Andrew Peterson, at Waconia, is being well 
cared for by his son, and although not bearing heavily was carrying con- 
siderable fruit. The orchard is comprised largely of Russian varieties of 
