THE FUTURE OF THE ORCHAED IN MINNESOTA. 417 



The farmer and the local nurseryman became good friends. 

 From him the farmer learned many useful lessons in horticulture, 

 and the future of the apple looked brighter. The farmer now joined 

 the State Horticultural Society and took an active interest therein. 

 He learned to root-graft and top-work trees, so that when his neigh- 

 bors paid one or two dollars for a tree, he often asked and ob- 

 tained a cutting from their high-priced trees, and by grafting it 

 into some of his larger trees obtained apples from the new variety 

 before his neighbors. The farmer raises his own trees now and 

 has every variety of worth grown in Minnesota. About this time 

 the State Horticultural Society offered $i,ooo for an ideal apple. 

 From many states came scores of applications from men who 

 thought they had found it. They sent scions to be tested as to their 

 hardiness, and our farmer friend tried nearly all. He has lighted 

 the lamp of experience now, and as it's rays penetrate the dim 

 vistas of time illuminating the future he sees his large cellars filled 

 with the choicest of apples, so highly flavored that they could not 

 be surpassed. He is planting trees by the acre now. His apples 

 bring the highest market price, and the demand is still increasing, 

 for the Minnesota farmer has the whole northwest to supply. 



But alas, a test winter comes far worse than the severe one 

 of 1884-5, 3nd there are acres and acres of dead trees all over Min- 

 nesota. Our farmer friend's hundreds of varieties are reduced to 

 less than half a dozen kinds. He has suffered a great loss, and 

 his hopes go down to zero. He sows his orchard to clover and goes 

 to raising hogs. The next summer he finds one very early apple of 

 good size and quality, one late fall apple that has a wonderful spicy 

 flavor and one winter apple that had stood the test and was perfectly 

 hardy. The winter variety was in appearance and quality equal 

 to the Wealthy, more productive and hardier than the Duchess and 

 proved a better keeper than the Malinda. Eureka ! it was the long 

 sought ideal ! 



His old orchard, though killed from the top, began to send up 

 sprouts from almost every tree, and the farmer takes heart and 

 grafts these sprouts with the Ideal. That had proved not only a 

 good keeper but a highly flavored fruit. Of the few kinds that were 

 reliable, he root-grafted and planted out many acres in addition to 

 his former large orchard. The grafts on the sprouts came to bear- 

 ing very soon, and the trees were far better than formerly. He found 

 that one or two varieties were more profitable than many, and thus 

 the test winter proved a blessing. Our farmer friend awakes to 



