112 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



more fully described in the report on seedlings exhibited at this 

 meeting. 



The Chairman (Saml. B. Green) : I wish to add a word for 

 myself. I think Mr. Patten has been doing a very remarkable work 

 in the way of originating new apples. He is a pioneer in this work, 

 and I can hardly see how we can give him the credit that really is 

 due him for his foresight in undertaking this work, for which he 

 has received nowhere sufficient money consideration. Money can- 

 not pay for that into which he has put his whole life, and his place 

 was of great interest to me as it was to Mr. Elliot. This summer we 

 could not see things in as good shape as in other years, because 

 there was not so much fruit, but the place was in good shape. I am 

 ready to answer any question that may be asked concerning this 

 report. 



Mr. Yahnke : Was top-working on the limbs any recommenda- 

 tion of the way it would grow ? 



The Chairman : Mr. Kenney has been doing that. He has be- 

 come interested in the Missing Link apple, and he has been work- 

 ing the two ends of a bearing tree. He has quite a little fruit to 

 show down stairs. I do not think he would recommend it for 

 general practice, but I think the idea is a good one in getting some- 

 thing into bearing quickly. 



j\Ir. Barnes (Wis.) : I noticed that mention was made of the 

 number of seeds in one particular apple. I would like to know 

 whether it is a benefit or a detriment for an apple to produce a large 

 number of seeds. 



The Chairman : I guess we will let Prof. Hansen answer that 

 question. 



Prof. Hansen : I believe a large number of seeds in any apple 

 as a general thing indicates that it is near the primitive type of the 

 apple. That is the theory generally held by those who have worked 

 over them the most, but on the other hand there are some old apples 

 that have a good many seeds in them. As a rule, however, an old 

 apple has generally few seeds. I have an apple in my collection that 

 has absolutely no seeds, one that I picked up while in the east. Aside 

 from that it has no other valuable point about it. The fewer the 

 seeds in an apple the l^etter, and the seedier the apple the nearer it 

 is to the primitive type of the apple. That is the general state of 

 opinion on the subject. 



Capt. A. H. Reed : I have been studying this seed question a 

 year or two, and every apple I have examined, no matter what the 

 variety, it has five seed cavities and as a general thing two seeds in 

 each cavity. I never examined an apple yet that had over ten seeds. 

 It has ten if the apple is fully developed, no more or less. 



Prof. Hansen : How many apples have you examined ? 



Capt. Reed : Hundreds of them. 



The Chairman : I remember when I was a boy I used to go to 

 parties, an we used to take the seeds out of the apples and say. "One 

 I love, two I love, three I love, I say ; four I love with all my heart, 

 five I cast away," etc., and we used to think then there were a differ- 

 ent number of seeds in an apple. 



