60 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



from Prof. Budd, are identical and promise to be keepers, but 

 owing tc some weakness of the blossoms have so far proved shy 

 bearers. 



We have some promising apples that in season appear later 

 than the Wealthy, and I will name a few: McMahon, Gideon, 

 Compton No. I, Hotchkiss, Grundy, Judson, Thompson and An- 

 tonovka. We have others not mentioned, but as yet they have 

 not promised much. 



In the crabs the Martha would take the lead as to the quality 

 of the fruit, but it does not bear anything to speak of. The Vir- 

 ginia crab does well, and everybody admires the fruit. It bears a 

 light crop every season. The Florence bears a heavy crop on 

 alternate seasons. The fruit is very desirable, is of medium season 

 and only lacks keeping qualities. Early Strawberry is our earliest 

 crab; it bears heavily only on alternate seasons. Compton's No. 3 

 fruited on about a dozen trees. The scab was worse on this variety 

 than on any of the others, part of the fruit being entirely worthless 

 from scab. 



Of hybrids the Whitney bears each season and sells well. My 

 two trees of the Sweet Russett bear annually, and it is in great de- 

 mand for eating out of hand. The Minnesota also bears .annually, 

 but nobody wants it for a crab; it only sells well when apples are 

 scarce. 



One Russian pear tree, 392, set the spring of 1886, bore quite 

 a few specimens. I omitted to mention that the Breskovka has 

 proved to be a valuable early apple, coming about one week earlier 

 than the Duchess, and bears a good crop every season. 



As to conifers I have found that it is about useless to plant them 

 on the open prairie here unless some means is provided to protect 

 them somewhat from the severe winds that prevail here during the 

 winter. With this protection most of the desirable evergreens 

 seem to succeed here. The exceptions so far noted are the white 

 pine, which only makes a feeble growth and is not hardy, and the 

 Norway spruce, which is also not as hardy as desirable, although 

 I have some very fine specimens growing. The jack pines I have 

 not been able to get well started. The red cedar transplants the 

 easiest and seems adapted to the wet alkali soil on the highest and 

 driest soils; the Black Hills spruce holds its green color the best 

 of all and is probably the hardiest evergreen I have. 



The following conifers are doing very well here: Scotch pine, 

 Austrian pine, white spruce, black spruce, Black Hills spruce, 

 Douglass spruce, concolor, blue spruce, red cedar (Juniper Vir- 

 giniana), red cedar (Rocky Mountain juniper) and arbor vitae. A 



