1/8 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



first winter. Often tlie trees have enough vitahty left to leaf out the 

 next spring and apparently die during the summer, the average 

 planter never mistrusting the real cause of their death, and if he 

 makes another attempt at growing an orchard he is just as liable 

 to make a failure of it as he did upon the first occasion. The remedy 

 for this root-killing which we have every winter is deep planting, 

 and protection by windbreaks or mulching of those tender French 

 crab roots, which most of our apple trees are supplied with when 

 they come from the nursery, until the trees send out roots from the 

 scion and the trees are practically upon their own roots. This 

 usually takes from three to five years after planting. These roots 

 are just as hardy as the tops, and with our trees supplied with them 

 the amount of root-killing will not be worth considering. When 

 this fact is universally understood then we shall have the foundation 

 mercial orcharding will at no distant period be one of the profit- 

 able orchards to indicate that where the rainfall is not too scant com- 

 mercial orcharding will at no great future period be one of the profit- 

 able industries of our western prairie. 



As to depth to plant the trees : from twelve to twenty-four inches 

 deeper than they stood in the nursery I think about right. This deep 

 planting should sometimes be supplemented by winter mulching. 

 The greater the exposure, the deeper the trees should be planted. 



As to the best location for an orchard, any of our black soil, 

 gently rolling or nearly level prairie I consider as good as any ; a 

 northeast slope is probably just as good. Avoid sandy or gravelly 

 lands, north and west slopes unless those slopes are well sheltered 

 by trees. 



As we go west from the Mississippi river the annual rainfall is 

 gradually less, and we should choose the more nearly level land for 

 orchard sites. An apple tree loves and must have moisture, and any 

 location that is too high for the cottonwood and the white willow 

 to do well is also too high and dry for successful orcharding. As 

 for air drainage, or circulation of air, well, we have plenty of it 

 on our nearly level prairie. 



As to varieties, the question is not so much what to plant as it is 

 what not to plant, with over one hundred varieties and many of them 

 worthless. I can better appreciate the value of the few really good 

 varieties. Here in southwestern Minnesota the only varieties I 

 would recommend for commercial purposes are Duchess, Wealthy 

 and Hibernal. If we were to drop one of these it would be the 

 Hibernal. For home use we may lengthen the season by adding 

 extra early and late varieties, like the Tetofsky and the Malinda, but 



