402 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
In his twenty-first year Mr. Patten worked upon the construction of 
the Illinois Central railroad, and later upon another road in southern Mis- 
souri, then being built toward Jefferson City from St. Louis. St. Louis 
was then but a small place, and at Chicago the court-house was a simple 
frame, two-story structure, surrounded on all sides by large plats of grass. 
During the following winter he took a contract on the Missouri road 
referred to, but on account of a severe outbreak of cholera in July following 
with all other northerners he left the state and returned to Wisconsin. He 
left shortly after to aid in the construction of the Illinois Central, which was 
completed to Freeport late that autumn. 
Most of the following year was spent at an academy in Delton, which at 
that time was one of the enterprising pioneer towns in southern Wisconsin, 
near to which place his parents had removed. Here he lived within two 
miles of the home of Mr. Briar, the originator of Briar’s Sweet Crab. The 
following seven years were passed with his father in conducting farming 
operations in Dane county, Wisconsin. His first orchard was planted here, 
and here he grew seedling peaches and apples to bearing, although none 
proved to be of special value. At this period Mr. Patten had become a good 
deal interested in horticulture, and had considerable knowledge of the lead- 
ing horticulturists of the west, and of the lists of hardy fruits and trees then 
recommended for Wisconsin. 
In the fall of 1864, having in the meantime married Miss Anna Whittier, 
of Fox Lake, Wis., he removed with his family to Charles City, Iowa, his 
present home, and two years later began the nursery work, without any 
practical knowledge of it, never having seen a graft set even. His first plant- 
ing was about 1,200 grafts and as many small evergreens, and different va- 
rieties of small fruits. These he removed in the spring of 1868 to the spot 
where his home now is, and where he has lived almost thirty-two years, 
which time has been constantly spent in the nursery and fruit business. 
Aside from the conduct of an extensive nursery, Mr. Patten has devoted 
much time during this long period to his experimental work and to the 
growth of new varieties from seed. This article would be too long to go into 
the details of this work, which has been referred to often by different writ- 
ers in the reports of this society. Prof. John Craig, connected with the 
Horticultural Department of the State University, at Ithaca, N. Y., lately 
visited Mr. Patten’s place to study the results of his work, and I quote 
from an article by him in a late number of the National Nurseryman: 
“T cannot refrain from drawing attention to the systematic experiments 
which have been carried on in this line for thirty years by Mr. C. G. Pat- 
ten, of Charles City, Iowa. A careful examination of his experimental 
grounds raised the character of this work in my estimation very considerably. 
Many fruit growers plant seeds in a haphazard way and hope for desirable 
results. Mr. Patten’s work has not in any sense been haphazard, and the 
results which he has secured are not only valuable pomologically, but scien- 
tifically valuable, because the facts relating to the newly produced varieties 
have been carefully recorded.” Then follows a description by Prof. Craig 
of some of the results of this work, which limited space makes it necessary 
to leave out. He closes by saying: ‘‘This is but a brief summary of the 
work Mr. Patten has in hand, and it is given for the purpose of drawing at- 
tention to his painstaking and conscientious effort, for the purpose of giv- 
ing credit where it is richly deserved.” 
