THE MINNESOTA 



HORTICULTURIST. 



VOL. 31. OCTOBER, 1903. No. 10. 



HORTICULTURE AT THE MINNESOTA STATE 

 FAIR, 1903. 



A. W. LATHAM^ SUPT. HORT. DEPT. 



The horticulturists of ^Minnesota, especially the members of 

 the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, who almost en- 

 tirely set up the display, have reason to be proud of the very fine 

 show of fruit made at the late Minnesota State Fair, held on the 

 last day of August and the first five days of September. The season 

 was in one respect unfavorable for this, in that it was unusually 

 backward, and the fair being held earlier than usual it resulted in 

 many varieties of fruit being unripe. Grapes and plums especially 

 showed this, many varieties of each being exhibited in an entirely 

 green condition and many other varieties only partially ripe. The 

 late varieties of apples were also of course unripe and lacking in 

 that brilliancy of color which pertains to many of the later keeping 

 Minnesota sorts, but otherwise favorable climatic conditions had 

 given the fruit unusual size. As a whole the exhibit was consider- 

 ably ahead of a year ago, but if the fair could have been held a week 

 later it would have added greatly to the size and beauty of 

 the fruit. If the horticulturists of the state are to ask anything 

 just now of the state fair management other than for a new build- 

 ing, it would be that the fair might be held a week later so that the 

 beauties of Minnesota fruits might be shown at their best. 



With the exception of a single plate of apples sent by Edson 

 Gaylord, of Xora Springs, Iowa, all the fruit shown in the hall was 

 of Minnesota growth. The point of principal interest was about 

 the seedling apple table, where a great variety of new seedling ap- 

 ples were shown, many of excellent quality and some that are evi- 

 dently long keepers. The most interesting collection of seedlings 

 this year came from the orchard of T. E. Perkins, of Red Wing. 

 There were 124 plates in his collection, all grown from the seed of 



