MY SEEDLING ORCHARD. 437 
such as the Northern Spy, King, etc., to try them. At another time I got 
from Ripon, Wis., twelve hundred root-grafts, and those were really of the 
hardy kinds, recommended by the State Horticultural Society of Wisconsin, 
but they killed before they bore fruit. I got the Walbridge and Haas, but 
they are dead and gone long ago. In that way I kept planting and work- 
ing away with the idea of getting fruit enough for my family, and it has 
been nip and tuck to get that much except within the last few years. 
In 1884-5, the hard winter, I had about three thousand trees that were 
about ready to bear, but a good many of them were in the nursery row. I 
had set out in the nursery row about three thousand trees ready to bear, 
and of all those I have only about eight or ten varieties left standing on the 
old stems, but a great many of them that died down at that time sprouted, 
and I have some seedlings and mixed varieties that came from tise. I 
kept setting out and planting a few seeds every year, and I think that :s the 
only way in which I can get any fruit to amount to anything. 
These last two years I planted seeds with a view to getting something 
more hardy, or rather a better keeper and larger. I have a good supply 
of keepers, but they are not of large size. That is what troubles me the 
most. I had last season over forty varieties keeping in the cellar until the 
first of June, and the first of August I had a few varieties left, but they were 
too small. I have at this time forty or fifty varieties. I had hard work to 
get one hundred and sixty varieties to take to our local fair. 
I have been lately planting seeds of the Tallman Sweet that was raised 
right under the Wolf River tree, with the object of getting something hardy 
and of the proper size. I am in hopes that later on we shall have something 
valuable from those seeds that will give us size and keeping qualities. I 
think “blood will tell” in planting apple seeds as well as in other things, and 
I believe by planting seeds from the larger apples and those of known keep- 
ing qualities we will produce something of larger size and a better keeper. 
My family has come to the conclusion that life is too short to bother with 
the small varieties, and we are discarding them as fast as we can. The big 
apple is better for all purposes and more profitable, and I believe can be 
raised just as well. The Wolf River trees bear the largest apples, and they 
are situated just where the wind can get at them, and they hang on through 
any wind, and I believe we can raise jarge apples that will hang on in the 
wind. 
The first thing I did was to plant a shelter belt around them, and every 
tree was cooked long’ years ago; that was where I made my great mis- 
take. I believe our best success on the prairie will be where the wind can 
get a full sweep at the trees. I have put out other trees as well as apple 
trees. I have tried deciduous trees, and I planted fruit trees. I had at one 
time twenty-seven varieties of tame plums and never got a plum from one 
of them. I had the same result with cherries and down to small fruit. I 
tried everything I could think of, and if anybody will suggest anything I 
have not tried I will try it. (Applause.) 
Mr. Harris: How large a tree will it take to raise your Wolf 
River apple? 
Mr. Parks: It depends on the ground. 
Mr. Harris: Does it bear a reasonable crop? 
Mr. Parks: Yes, it does. Where there is considerable shade 
it will bear. 
Mr. Harris: How many bushels do you take from a tree? 
Mr. Parks: Twenty bushels. A year ago this last season I 
picked twenty bushels from one tree. (Applause.) 
