220 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
half an acre in size, little vineyards, little patches of garden, bits of 
timber way up there on the mountain side; it makes one feel weak in 
the knees to look at them, and you are too busy looking at the 
grandeur of the scene to care much about whether rows are straight 
or not. The farms are so high up and so steep that if a farmer stubs 
his toe he may fall into the next county. (Laughter.) 
Prof. Hays: I just want to say a word in encouragement. Mr. 
Owen has brought out one thing that I believe should be taken to 
give us new courage. We have here a republic that is even more 
communistic than we are. Why are we not American enough to do 
this thing, to ask our legislature and congress for bigger appropria- 
tions and show them our faith, and to have some faith ourselves? 
GROWING APPLE SEEDLINGS. 
FRANK YANKHE, WINONA. 
The art of growing apple seedlings for the purpose of few varieties rests 
upon the same principles that the stock breeder follows to improve his stock. 
The horticulturist who wants to grow seedling apple trees to get a new 
variety of apples must have a clear conception as to what kind of an apple 
and tree he would like to produce. If a long keeping apple, red in color, 
tart in taste, a hardy and prolific bearing tree is the aim of the grower, he 
must select a tree which is a prolific bearer of long keeping apples, and if 
possible, apples having the desired color and taste. Then he must select 
another tree which has the full hardiness desired and other good qualities, 
as good as can be gotten with the hardiness. When these apple trees are 
in bloom, pollenize the blossom of the former tree with the pollen of the 
blossom of the latter tree. The pollenization must be done by hand. The 
blossoms you want to use for pollenization, of either tree, must be covered 
with mosquito netting from the beginning of bloom to the end, in order to 
keep the bees from them. If the bees have free access to the blossoms they 
may pollenize them from trees not desirable. 
When the apples are ripe select the best ones for seed and plant this seed 
the same fall. When the seed comes up in the spring take good care of the 
sprouts until they are two or three years old. Then select the thriftiest and 
apparently the hardiest, having the least thorns, and transplant them for 
trial in the orchard. 
The horticulturist may not reach his desired end in the first generation, 
and, therefore, he must follow it up with these seedlings until he has the 
desired apple and tree. With the many seedlings we have already and with 
good care he may succeed in obtaining the desired fruit and tree in the first 
generation. / 
To raise apple seedlings from the old American standard varieties is not 
advisable. I have experimented with them for twenty-five years without any 
satisfactory result. The Duchess and other Russian varieties are superior 
to them. 
I believe the best result can be obtained by crossing our hardy seedlings 
with the best American varieties. I would advise to take a good American 
variety which drives its roots deep into the ground, free from blight, and 
