APPLE ORCHARDING IN MINNESOTA. 285 



Mr. Brackett: What do you consider the most profitable tree 

 in. dollars and cents ? 



Mr. Busse : That depends a good deal upon the season. Some 

 seasons one variety does a little better than some other variety. We 

 have Duchess that I would say pay as well as anything we have in 

 certain seasons, but the Okabena pays as well on the whole as any 

 variety I have in the orchard, and they are in bearing every year. 

 They bear well every year and more heavily than most varieties. 

 I would place the Patten's Greening next in the Ust ; as Prof. Green 

 said, it is a money maker. It was the best money maker I had two 

 years ago, although the Hibernal turned out well. They were so 

 large I think the grocer said there were sixty apples in a basket. 

 He said he could sell them two for a nickel and make a good profit 

 on them 



Mr. Barnes : Did you plant them straight up and down or did 

 you lean them? 



Mr. Busse : I slanted them to the south and have practiced 

 that method for several years. I did not do that in the first orchard 

 I planted, but since then I have done so. I think it is a good idea 

 as it seems to keep them from splitting out in the crotch. 



Mr. Barnes : Do you notice any benefit by planting the lower 

 branches toward the south ? 



Mr. Busse : I always try to get the lower branches toward the 

 southwest side. 



Mr. Barnes: I guess you understand your business. (Laugh- 

 ter.) 



Mr. H. H. Pond : Does the Patten's Greening show any dispo- 

 sition to decay? 



Mr. Busse : No, sir, not enough to speak of. Almost any ap- 

 ple will rot. I find even the Duchess will rot, and the Patten's 

 Greening will rot now and then. I have heard that said against it, 

 but I could not say that of my own experience. They will rot some, 

 of course, but no more so than any other apple and not enough to 

 , make particular mention of it. I think when the Professor was in 

 my orchard the apples were all perfectly sound. 



The Chairman : Does it drop with you ? 



Mr. Busse : No, sir, it does not. 



Mr. Taylor : Do your customers inquire for any particular 

 variety of apples? 



Mr. Busse : Well, people will ask me, "What varieties of apples 

 have you got?" I say to them, "A good variety." Then they say, 

 ^'Sweet or sour?" I say, "Both." (Laughter and applause.) I 

 simply give them a trial, cut a piece out of an apple and let them try 

 it. There is no trouble about selling them after they taste the ap- 

 ples. Last fall after I was all sold out, I could have sold 500 bush- 

 els more if I had had them. I have got nothing but good, sound 

 apples, and I can get a good price for them. 



The Chairman : How much do you get out of your orchard ? 



Mr. Busse : Well, I can't tell exactly. I have so many trees 

 that were not yet in bearing. I suppose I had in the neighborhood 

 of thfee acres in bearinsf. 



