BIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES G. PATTEN. 403 
Mr. Patten’s usefulness is not circumscribed by his work in the orchard 
and nursery, as he has been for the last twenty-five years a large contributor 
to the agricultural and horticultural press of the country, and has occupied 
many places of trust and importance in the gifts of his brother horticulturists, 
having been several times president of the Iowa state society, as also later of 
the northeastern Iowa society, one of the directors of the state experimental 
work and a frequent delegate to the meetings of national horticultural and 
other kindred associations. 
~ Mr. Patten has been a member of the Minnesota State Horticultural So- 
ciety for a number of years, and a very regular attendant at our meetings, 
so much so that the working members of the society are largely his personal 
acquaintances. At the last annual meeting, upon the recommendation of 
the executive board and by unanimous vote of the society, he was made an 
honorary life member, an honor he has fairly earned by the faithful work 
he has done and is yet doing for the horticulture of the northwest. As Mr. 
Patten is still in the harness, we may expect much more from him yet in the 
many years of life we hope remain to him. 
ASW. 
LOCATION AND PROTECTION OF THE ORCHARD. 
C. MORGAN, FORESTVILLE. 
(So. Minn. Hort. Society.) 
Twenty-five years’ experience and observation in growing apple trees in 
Minnesota has forced me to surrender a great many of my preconceived 
views relative to where and how to plant an orchard. When I first com- 
menced planting trees I knew all that was necessary to know about location 
and care of apple trees. I thought, as all new beginners do, that any kind of 
a hole in the ground was all sufficient and good enough and that any farther 
attention to the tree after being planted was only an old fogy notion, that we 
did not propose to follow. But I, like all others of like smartness, have to 
surrender my self conceit and come down off my high horse and admit that 
those old fogies had been doing some thinking while going through the 
school of experience, which I think to be the best of all schools, especially 
in growing apple trees for Minnesota and the northwest. 
I know there has been a good deal said and written in regard to location, 
that only such inclines, or slopes, as north or northeast were suited to trees; 
that unless you had such inclines as stated above on your farm it would be 
useless to put out trees with the expectation of growing an orchard. I be- 
lieve that a gradual incline to the north makes the best place for an or- 
chard, mostly because the soil is generally stronger and holds the moisture 
better than a south incline. It is claimed that trees set on a north slope are 
less liable to sunscald. Speaking of inclines, let me tell you beginner there 
is one incline that is necessary to success in growing an orchard—it is an 
incline that is self adjusting; and you cannot properly plant either tree or 
shrub without using this incline. It is well adapted and works well either 
on level land or steep hillsides. Sometimes the incline is about equal to 45 
degrees, especially when setting an apple tree, and quite often straining on 
the spinal column. I consider this the most important incline of all; if you 
expect to be successful in raising apple trees or small fruit, always use this 
incline freely, as there is no patent on it. 
