350 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



5. Minnesota has the largest horticultural society. The Min- 

 nesota State Horticultural Society is the largest body of the kind 

 in the world, having grown, in thirty-seven years, from a member- 

 ship of nine to one of 1,430. Early difficulties in fruit raising united 

 Minnesota horticulturists. The society is an organization for earnest 

 work in a common cause. It should soon double its membership. 



6. The Wealthy a Minnesota apple. The Wealthy apple, orig- 

 inated about forty-one years ago, at Lake Minnetonka, by Peter M. 

 Gideon, ranks among the best apples in the world. In its prime it 

 has no superior in quality. It is now grown in many states of th^ 

 Union and in the home market outsells all other apples. Mr. Gideon 

 had vowed, after many failures, to succeed in raising apples or leave 

 the state, and his development of the Wealthy entitles him to endur- 

 ing pomological fame. The Wealthy apple is a source of great 

 wealth to Minnesota, and the Wealthy apple trees form more than 

 a million living monuments to the memory of Mr. Gideon. One 

 nursery in this state has grafted and set nearly one million Wealthy 

 apple trees in the last twenty years. 



7. Efforts to obtain an ideal apple. The zeal and enthusiasm 

 of Minnesota horticulturists is unbounded. They have repeatedly 

 gained victory from apparent defeat and will yet develop the ideal 

 apple for which this society has a standing offer of $1,000. Such an 

 apple will be easily worth $5,000,000 to the Northwest. 



8. Recent rapid pomological development. The United States 

 has now probably 250,000,000 apple trees, with an average crop of 

 200,000,000 bushels. Minnesota has probably 2,000,000 apple trees, 

 but not many yet in bearing. The Central West of the United States 

 is becoming the great apple growing region of the world. The in- 

 crease in number of apple trees in the United States from 1890 to 

 1900 was about 60 per cent, mostly in the Central West. In Min- 

 nesota there has been a very rapid orchard development during the 

 past three years. A more exact annual pomological statistical rec- 

 ord is needed. 



9. Promising apple market in Minnesota. Minnesota is now 

 the market annually for 1,000,000 or more bushels of apples from 

 other states. It now produces probably 500,000 bushels annually, 

 nearly all for immediate neighborhood use, but should soon supply 

 home demands with 5,000,000 bushels annually. It already has the 

 trees, and within five years will have the apples ; but there is no dan- 

 ger of raising too many apples, as consumption will increase witfi 

 the supply, and new markets to the Northwest will open. 



10. Apple grozciiig in Minnesota commercially successful. 

 Apple growing is a commercial success in a considerable portion of 



