I08 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



we found it surrounded by magnificent specimens of evergreen 

 (white, Austrian and Scotch pines and Norway spruce) inter- 

 spersed with deciduous trees, with orchard and nursery in the im- 

 mediate vicinity, showing what energy and push guided by a re- 

 sourceful mind had accompHshed in one short Hfetime. We made 

 several trips through the orchard and exi>erimental grounds, noting 

 the many different seedlings of Mr. Patten's origination. The 

 prominent one, most claiming my attention, was the original tree 

 of Patten's Greening, showing a strong, healthy, vigorous growth 

 and foliage, fairly well loaded with fruit — a remarkable tree. Very 

 prominent, largely owing to the abundance of wet weather, was 

 rust on leaves and fruit of most of the named varieties, with here 

 and there an exception. We saw Iowa Beauty sparsely loaded with 

 good sized, attractive fruit, foliage showing some effect of rust ; 

 Brilliant, well loaded with fruit, foliage quite healthy ; Patten's 

 Fameuse very fruitful and promising; and several hundred other 

 seedlings, none of which, to my mind, equals the varieties already 

 mentioned. One very prominent feature of this station was the 

 luxuriant growth of weeds and grass. Were I to criticize Mr. Pat- 

 ten's method in the growing of seedlings, I should say his trees 

 were overcrowded for best development of tree and fruit, but 

 where so many trees are on trial it is excusable, and he ought to be 

 highly commended for the grand work he has done for the advance- 

 ment of the fruit industry of Iowa and the northwestern states. W^e 

 visited the Sherman Nurseries, just outside of the city, and were 

 much pleased with the many object lessons of interest in the grow- 

 ing of nurser}^ stock. The one thing of most interest to me was 

 five acres of ground under artificial shade for the purpose of grow- 

 ing evergreen seedlings. Here we saw long beds three to four feet 

 wide, full of one, two and three year old seedlings, growing with all 

 the luxuriance of their native habitat. We were shown a fine field 

 of Hung-arian grass., where in early spring twenty bushels of apple 

 seed had been planted, which proved a total failure on account of a 

 superabundance of wet weather at the time the young seedlings ap- 

 peared above the surface of the ground, causing them to damp off, 

 or blight. There were many things seen of great interest to me, an 

 old nurseryman, showing the marked advancement in the present 

 methods of conducting the nursery business. 



Perhaps all do not know how persistent and pursuasive our 

 President Wedge is when he wishes to accomplish anything. Prof. 

 Green and I had intended to come directly home from Charles City, 

 but our president pleaded and insisted that we visit the Wedge 

 nurseries and partake of his genial hospitality, and of course we 



