vice-president's report, third congressional district. 87 



VICE-PRESIDENT'S REPORT, THIRD CONGRESS- 

 IONAL DISTRICT. 



A. H. REED, GLENCOE. 



In accordance with custom I make my first report as vice-presi- 

 dent as to the condition of horticultural interests throughout the 

 third congressional district, comprising the counties of Goodhue, 

 Rice, Dakota, Scott, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Sibley, Carver and McLeod. 



Owing to the lack of auxiliary organizations in the interest of 

 pomology or horticulture, I have been unable to get in communica- 

 tion with the fruit growers of the different counties, as I desired, so 

 that I could incorporate in this report the progress each county is 

 making in propagating fruit trees and the production of fruit, 

 especially of apples — as to the number of bearing trees and approx- 

 imate number of bushels produced, varieties, etc. From this lack 

 of a proper system to bring each county in the state into touch 

 with our state organization, vice-presidents are unable to gather the 

 information most essential for them to report — hence I shall con- 

 fine my report to my own county, McLeod, believing it will answer 

 for each of the other counties in the district. 



The season of 1903, just closed, while the wettest since 1881, 

 has been the most fruitful for years, especially of strawberries, 

 plums, apples and all vegetables except potatoes, which were near- 

 ly a failure, except with those who had planted on sandy land. 



The display of fruit at our county fair, held at Hutchinson, by 

 far exceeded any exhibit ever made in the county. The abundant 

 yield of fruit I attribute to the absence of frost at the time of bloom- 

 ing and the large amount of moisture that fell during the season. 



Farmers have just begun to realize that apples can be produced 

 in McLeod County as well as elsewhere, and that each can have 

 his prairie home, as well as a timber home, surrounded by an or- 

 chard of apple trees, full of beautiful and fragrant bloom in spring 

 time and loaded with standard fruit of almost any variety desired 

 later in the season, thus saving the importation of thousands of 

 barrels from York state, Michigan, Missouri and other states that 

 now mainly supply Minnesota with apples, taking from us annually 

 thousands of dollars. 



In my opinion the great drawback to apple tree culture and the 

 production of apples in Minnesota has been not only the loss of 

 trees by bad handling at two and three years' growth at the time 

 of transplanting, and up to seven years after being transplanted, but 

 the exorbitant high prices charged by some nurserymen : "ten dol- 

 lars for six" trees; $1.50, $1.25 and $1.00 apiece have been paid 



