96 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



November 21 and 22, we had the worst blizzard for twelve years. 

 The drifted snow is now, November 28, from two to four feet deep 

 over the larger part of my orchard. The largest drifts are from 

 eight to ten feet high, and some of the trees are completely covered 

 over, and it looks now as though most of my orchard trees would 

 have to pass the winter under the abnormal condition of the roots 

 being in unfrozen earth. The result is awaited with some anxiety. 



PETER M. GIDEON AND HIS SEEDLING APPLES. 



KOLLA STUBBS, HULDA. 



Quite recently the writer had the pleasure of visiting an old friend, 

 Peter M. Gideon, the oldest horticulturist in the state. Notwith- 

 standing the severe shock he had last summer from a horse kicking 

 him out of his buggy, he is looking well and enjoying good health. 

 He is just entering his eightieth year. He is as enthusiastic as ever 

 in horticultural work. 



Knowing that many of your readers would like to hear of his 

 work, I will give it as he gave it to me. He says that his apple trees 

 have gone into the winter in good condition; that he has 3,000 bear- 

 ing apple trees and 5,000 set, mostly of his varieties of seedling 

 apples; that he has 30,000 seedling trees raised from the seed of 

 Wealthy and Peter apples. We may look for something good from 

 these seedlings, and who knows but some of them may win the prize 

 of $1,000 offered by the State Horticultural Society? He planted last 

 fall enough apple seed from his own raising to make 50,000 more 

 trees. During his care of the state farm he sent out 60,000 seedling 

 apple trees over the northwest, from which he has heard good 

 reports. 



We think there is not another man in the northwest who has put 

 in as much hard work and devoted so much time to apple culture as 

 Mr. Gideon has, as he has devoted forty-four years of his time with 

 a good deal of sacrifice to his home comforts for the sake of 

 accomplishing his work of getting hardy apple trees and long 

 keepers. 



He has now between fifty and one hundred varieties of apple 

 scions top-grafted on his hardy stock of trees that he has procured 

 from all over the world at a cost of one dollar per scion for many 

 of them. Wherever he could hear of a long keeping apple he sent 

 for it. 



In regard to the Peter apple tree. Many do not know the value 

 of it. There does not seem to be much said about it in the reports 

 of the horticultural society. The Peter apple originated from a 

 seed of the Wealthy; it commenced to bear fruit in the year of 

 1882, and we think it is going to supersede the Wealthy, as it has a 

 stronger constitution and is not so subject to twig blight. It forms 

 a top much like the Whitney No. 20, with its limbs inclined upward, 

 holding its fruit up well. It is not so prolific in bearing as the 

 Wealthy, but the Wealthy bears too heavily for its own good. The 

 apple in size, quality and color is very much like the Wealthy, but 



