74 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



MY SELECTION OF VARIETIES IN AN ORCHARD 

 OF 100 TREES. 



WYMAN ELLIOT, MINNEAPOLIS. 



In the selection of varieties of apples for a commercial orchard 

 for this climate there are several distinctive qualities to be con- 

 sidered, viz.: hardiness, longevity, productiveness, size, shape, color, 

 flavor and season. All these should receive minute consideration. 



It is an old and true saying that "handsome is that handsome 

 does." The profitableness of a variety depends very much upon its 

 productiveness and commanding a good price when marketed. To 

 be a first-class apple for wholesaling and retailing from fruit stands 

 it is essential that it be uniform in shape, of good size, showy and 

 attractive in color, of inviting flavor for cooking and eating out of 

 the hand, and as it possesses these q-'alifications its value for profit 

 is determined. 



In the long list of varieties of apples which we are now cultivating^ 

 there is not one in its season more tempting to the eye and taste or 

 which commands a better price than the Wealthy. We have several 

 kinds that are valuable for special purposes, but none of them bear 

 the reputation with the connoisseur of fine fruits that the Wealthy 

 has acquired. It is fast gaining the esteem among the list of apples 

 of real merit that the Hubbard squash with vegetables has obtained 

 for market and culinary purposes. Its popularity will be recognized 

 in all lands as it becomes known ; and with the modern methods 

 now used for extending its season it can be kept in good condition 

 until March or April at the moderate expense of forty-five cents per 

 barrel in cold storage. When its value as a first-class dessert and 

 cooking apple is considered, where can we find one that surpasses 

 it or fills its place as well ? 



Then, as a tree in the nursery and orchard, there are few its 

 equal in vigor and growth, and with the method of top-working on 

 hardy trees as now recommended for its propagation there is no 

 variety superior to plant or one that gives earlier or more continuous 

 remunerative returns for the labor expended. Its over-productive- 

 ness is one of the causes affecting its hardiness and longevity, but 

 this can be easily prevented by judicious thinning of the fruit 

 when it is less than one-quarter grown, each year that the tree is 

 inclined to overbear. 



Now, to come to the subject assigned me of my selection of 

 varieties in an orchard of 1,000 trees. This would depend largely 

 on location, soil, expense and for what purpose designed, whether 

 for experiment or trial, or to be confined strictly to raising of fruit 

 commercially for profit. After givihg this subject considerable 

 solicitous investigation by correspondence and comparing the 

 practical efforts of those having the largest experience in this and 

 surrounding states, together with my own observations, I would 

 choose the following varieties for profit with these methods of propa- 

 gation : 500 Wealthy, top-worked on Hibernal or Silken Leaf when 

 these trees were three years old. Graft the scions of the Wealthy 

 on the central leader and side limbs, preferring to have the body of 

 the tree at least three feet high. 250 Wealthy grafts double-worked, 



