302 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



DOES EXPERIENCE PROMISE MINNESOTA A HARDY, 

 LONG-KEEPING APPLE? 



(A DISCUSSION.) 



Mr. Dartt: This question was assigned me by the secretary. I 

 looked it over, and I made up my mind the question itself was a 

 self evident proposition, and it was fooling- away time to talJc about 

 it, so I declined answering-, but I told hitn instead I would give him 

 either a paper or a talk on the Duchess apple or the handling of it — 

 but he is a man who gets all he can and keeps all he gets, and he 

 held me for both. 



I will say, therefore, to bring the question before you, that no one 

 doubts our ability in the least to raise a long-keeping apple, and I 

 want to give you a fact or two. Once upon a time a judge rendered 

 a certain decision, and a lawyer said to him: "You can't do it."' 

 " Well," 'said the judge, '• I have done it." Now, we have got a long- 

 keeping apple; we have an apple on the table in the other room two 

 seasons old. We have got an apple that was grown in 1897, and we 

 have got an apple of the same variety that was grown in 1898. Can 

 anybody hear this testimony and then doubt our ability to raiee a 

 long-keeping apple? We have got the Malinda, that is a long-keep- 

 ing apple, and what more do we want? Do we need more evidence 

 in that line? If so, put your evidence right in. 



Mr. Harris: We have at least four varieties of seedlings in the 

 state that are known to be long-keeping apples. There is that apple 

 of Mr. Day's, of Farmington; there is the apple in Cottonwood 

 county, near Windom; there is the apple at Adams, in Houston 

 county — that is an apple that has kept for two years; and there is the 

 apple from Hastings, which he says is a seedling. We had apples 

 on exhibition at our summer meeting last year raised the year 

 before, and he brought in at the same time samples of quarter 

 grown apples and said he had kept them all summer long. Now 

 we have these four varieties. Then we have lots of seedlings, that 

 have not been shown at our meetings, that have kept until state fair 

 time the next year after. I do not know the quality of the fruit, but 

 this fact ought to be very encouraging, that we are going to get 

 as long-keepers as anybody, and some of them of good quality, 

 too. Mr. Day's is a fine apple, and most of them are very good. 



Mr. Ditue Day: I want to say a word in regard to that long-keeping 

 apple. I brought a plate of last year's apples and a plate of this 

 year's apples, but the plate of last year's apples is nearly gone. 

 Those plates of apples will keep, I do not know how long, but 

 they are perfectly sound to the core now, and they will keep till next 

 year. It is an apple that will keep longer than any other, and I 

 know it to be a good apple. It is a prolific bearer, and I think it 

 would live through a severe winter. It has never lived through 

 a test winter. The apples have never been kept in cold storage 

 at all, and those apples — if you will examine thein — will keep for 

 months yet. 



Mr. Patten, (Iowa): I have an apple here (exhibiting) that for want 

 of a name I call the ''pedigreed Duchess." You see the condition it 



