86 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



varieties ripened up perfectly. After a pretty thorough test of a 

 great number of varieties, I offer the following list as the most 

 desirable and valuable for general cultivation in southern Minne- 

 sota, viz.: Moore's Early, Worden, Early Victor, Delaware, Brighton, 

 Moore's Diamond, Niagara, Concord, but do not advise planting 

 largely of the Early Victor for market purposes. 



A considerable number of young trees in the trial orchard bore a 

 few specimens of fruit, but hardly enough to determine their value. 

 About thirty new seedlings have fruited but will not be given 

 names or numbers at present, as it is not probable that very many 

 of them will prove worthy of propagation, and, in fact, we have 

 already destroyed one-third of them and many more that have 

 never fruited, either because they showed remarkable signs of a lack 

 of hardiness or vigor, or were great blighters and were not desirable 

 to use for top-working. Few of the Russian varieties outside of the 

 Duchess of Oldenburg family, viz.: the Hibernal, Anisim, Bres- 

 kovka, Longfield, Antouovka, Ostrekoff, Bode, Cross and Yellow 

 Transparent, are likely to become popular for orchard planting in 

 the more favored portions of the state. The Red, Yellow and Pink 

 Anis have no value here, as they are not good bearers and 

 what fruit they produce drops too early or while the Duchess is in 

 season, and they have no commercial value. 



The Russian Green and the Blue Anis would be desirable if the 

 fruit would hang until the proper time for harvesting them. As 

 some of the varieties of the Anis family appear to be more hardy 

 than the Duchess and Hibernal, they will likely prove of great value 

 for the extreme northern limits of apple culture. But little spraying 

 for insects and fungous diseases has so far been done, but the little 

 done showed very favorable results, and more will be done in the 

 future. 



The worst pest we have to contend with is the gouger, which is 

 very injurious to the fruit of some varieties, causing it to be knotty 

 and ill-shaped. §o far, I have not found any perfect remedy, but am 

 satisfied that frequent spraying with Paris green and jarring the 

 trees, catching the insect on sheets and destroying them, greatly 

 reduces the number, and if continued over two or three years maj'- 

 exterminate them. 



For the codling moth, in addition to spraying, we have found that 

 placing bands of burlap folded two or three thicknesses and five or 

 six inches wiae about the trunks of the trees, eighteen inches above 

 the ground, drawing the top edge tight and fastening with a string 

 or large tack, leaving the lower edge loose so that the larvae may 

 hide under it for propagating, is a paying operation, greatly 

 reducing the number of, wormy fruit of the later ripening varieties. 

 The bands are put on about the first of June and taken off, examined 

 and all larvae under them crushed, replacing them about every 

 nine or ten days, during June and until middle of August, after 

 which they are left until all fruit has been gathered. About the 

 first of November they are all removed and put away for winter, and 

 every larvie found under them destroyed. 



The plantation begun in 1896, on the rather steep slope on the 

 north side of a high bluff, is promising remarkably well. The tim- 



