FIFTY-NINE YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH FRUITS IN THE WEST. 42/ 



Minnesota, in June, 1856, as soon as I had the ground ready I pur- 

 chased some apple trees. I had some of the small fruits started, 

 and we did not despise the wild crab apple in those days. The fruit 

 trees I planted were New York stock and were a failure. I had 

 some more bought and heeled in when I enlisted and went south ; 

 some one else set them out, and I found them growing when I re- 

 turned home. 



I settled in Martin county in 1866, and sent to John Knox, of 

 Pittsburg, Penn., for a $10.00 selection of small fruits, and went 

 twelve miles to the nearest post office for them, and raised plenty 

 of small fruits till the grasshoppers came — they ate up the straw- 

 berries, took the leaves off the currants and gooseberries and apple 

 trees, and girdled them — :and I have never had much faith in girdling 

 apple trees since. I planted a teacupful of apple seed and set an- 

 other orchard but never picked a peck of apples of my own growing 

 until I grew them in Winnebago. I never lost faith Jn the future 

 of apple growing in Minnesota, for it is the one that keeps trying 

 that succeeds. 



The first trees that I saw bearing in Minnesota had been broken 

 down and sprouted out near the ground and were tops and roots. 

 I saw plenty of trees that had been pruned in orthodox fashion that 

 were sun-scalded on the body while the limbs were all right, and 

 I reasoned that if we had the body so short that, the limbs would 

 shade it from the time it was set there would be less danger of 

 sun-scald, and practice has proven the theory correct. 



I used to set trees just a little deeper than they grew- in nursery, 

 and it took years to find out that twelve to eighteen inches was very 

 much better in this windy country. I learned this first from the 

 experience of others, and afterwards proved it myself and found it 

 a success in both wet and dry seasons. Four years ago we set some 

 trees to fill vacancies in orchard, and I show yOu a specimen of 

 growth in the last two years — and the tree is of a rathef.slow growth 

 in nursery. This is a limb that grew w'ith two others near the 

 ground. I could have shown a larger growth by taking the top 

 of the tree — and I wish to say the blue grass stood eighteen inches 

 high all around this tree. 1 have believed for many years that give 

 the roots a chance and they would support all the tops that would 

 grow, always, of course, removing one of two limbs when they cross 

 and rub together. 



Mr. Harris once told me I would find my trees would not bear 

 unless I pruned them more. Since those trees got to bearing they 

 have never yet failed on alternate years to have all the apples they 



