OWATONNA TRIAL STATION. 91 



A VISIT TO THE OWATONNA EXPERIMENT STATION. 



J. S. HARRIS, LA CRESCENT. 



On the 23d of August, of this year, 1898, in company with 

 other members of the executive board of the State Horticultural 

 Society, I made an official visit at the experimental tree station and 

 trial orchard located at Owatonna, and made the acquaintance of 

 E. H. S. Dartt. 



We found the station in the best of order. It is securely fenced 

 ag-fcinst thievish boys, dogs and rabbits. It is kept clean and thor- 

 oughly cultivated, and Mr. Dartt uses a system of record that 

 obviates the making of mistakes and by which any variety can be 

 found at once. The object of the station is: First, to conduct experi- 

 ments in the originating of new or seedling varieties of the tree 

 fruits with the view of securing varieties of sufficient hardiness to 

 endure this northwestern climate and of a quality that will make 

 them worthy of general cultivation in quantities sufficient to sup- 

 ply the wants of our rapidly increasing population. Second, to give 

 all of the varieties recently imported from Russia a fair, thorough 

 and impartial trial, as fast as trees and scions of these varieties can 

 be secured. Third, to gather in and test such American varieties as 

 are reputed hardy, and all seedlings of northwestern origin that do 

 orhave shown evidence of hardiness and of producing a good quality 

 of fruit. Fourth, so to conduct experiments in propagation, culti- 

 vation, pruning, etc., in order to secure the best results and estab- 

 lish safe rules to govern the propagation and planting of trees in 

 this state. 



In the growing of seedlings a record is made of the variety from 

 which seed is taken. As soon as wood can be grown a few grafts 

 are made from each one of the seedlings that in vigor or otherwise 

 show evidence of value and planted in nursery rows and given good 

 cultivaition, there to stand until they fruit, unless they show unmis- 

 takable evidence of being of no value; or, in some cases, trees that 

 are most promising are planted in trial orchard before the variety 

 has fruited. The same method is also pursued with Russian varie- 

 ties and seedlings of good repute. 



Among the seedlings produced at this station, a seedling a 

 cross between the Tetofeky and a Siberian hybrid, and known as 

 Dartt's Hybrid, has been freely used to work from. The result is a 

 family of fruit ranging from small to medium size of great beauty, 

 bearing a striking resemblance to the original Dartt's Hybrid, 

 evidently quite hardy in tree, and some of them bountiful fruiters 

 and, generally, the fruit only of moderate quality. From the obser- 

 vations we were able to make at the time, we are lead to the con- 

 clusion that none of them will prove to be late winter keepers or of 

 great value for commercial orchards, unless it should be one or two 

 of the parent's size and crab type. We do not recommend their 

 being abandoned at once. Among the best we noted was Dartt's 

 Hybrid No. 5, medium size, yellow and red striped, season Septem- 

 ber; Dartt's Hybrid No. 23; and Dartt's Hybrid No. 1, medium size, 

 good tree, good quality; Seedling A, best crab in the lot; seedling 

 C. large for a crab but of good quality — tree good. 



