TRACING THE GIDEON APPLE SEEDLINGS. 31 



TRACING THE GIDEON APPLE SEEDLINGS. 



WYMAN EI^LIOT, MINNEAPOLIS. 



Through the courtesy of Ansel Gideon, the oldest son of the 

 late Peter M. Gideon, soon after the death of his father, I had ac- 

 cess to the books and manuscripts left in the old homestead, and 

 among them I discovered an old order book in which were recorded 

 the orders taken for seedling apple trees that, during the years 

 1887-9, he had advertised for distribution to those who enclosed 

 one dollar, to pay for packing, with an application for one hundred 

 trees. For convenience in keeping a record of each lot of trees, 

 I made a list of the persons ordering and numbered them consecu- 

 tively from I to 231. I spent considerable time in locating the true 

 post-office addresses of these persons, and found that they had a 

 wide distribution, going into twenty-seven different states, from 

 New Mexico on the southwest to Maine on the northeast, Pennsyl- 

 vania on the southeast and Selkirk in the northwest, and into one 

 hundred and sixty-one counties and two hundred and three towns. 

 There never was, as far as we know, any effort made by Mr. Gid- 

 eon or any one else to trace up the results to be expected from 

 planting these seedling trees, distributed over such a large area, 

 with a wide range of climatic influences and environment. 



After consulting with the president, secretary and executive 

 board of our society about the advisability of tracing up the results 

 of this work, the following circular was prepared, containing twelve 

 questions to be answered by the person receiving or the present 

 owner of these trees: 



INFORMATION WANTED AS TO THE CONDITION, FRUITAGE AND PRESENT 



OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN SEEDLING APPLES, SENT OUT BY THE 



LATE PETER M. GIDEON, OF EXCELSIOR, MINN. 



Please answer each question following, writing in the space 

 provided after each question, and mail at your earliest convenience 

 (using the enclosed enveleope), and you will assist the Minnesota 

 State Horticultural Society materially in its efforts to secure hardy 

 and valuable fruits for the northwest: 



1. How many of Mr. Gideon's seedling apple trees did you 

 receive, and in what year? * 



2. Were the trees in good condition when received? 



3. Will you please give the names and postoffice addresses of 

 any others you know who have at any time planted any of Mr. 

 Gideon's seedling apple trees? 



4. How many of the Gideon trees you planted are now alive 

 and in good condition? 



5. Describe the location where those trees were planted, par- 

 ticularly as to soil, subsoil, comparative elevation, direction of slope, 

 protection from winds, etc. 



