338 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sometimes 34 to 36 below zero, but on inquiry among horticulturists 

 throughout the state it was found that their apple trees were not 

 killed. They said it was on account of the water. The limbs were 

 covered with ice and snow, and the temperature was as low as it ever 

 goes, but no root-killing or any bad effects were noticeable in the 

 apple trees. I would like to know if any of the gentlemen have cor- 

 rect records of the temperature compared with the amount of 

 moisture in the soil. Several years ago a neighbor of mine had a row 

 of soft maples set out, and the drouth came on and was so severe 

 that the water in the well that supplied them went down eighteen 

 feet, and every one of those soft maples died, and almost every pop- 

 lar, or what we call shallow rooted trees died, while those with a 

 tap root, like the oak or the apple tree in its natural state, or those 

 where the seed was planted, all remained. And so we found that 

 those apple trees with the tap root would not kill, but every surface 

 rooted tree would kill. If any gentleman has tried this experiment 

 or noted the difference between the temperature and moisture. I 

 would like to hear the result of his investigation. I recognize the 

 great trouble caused by root-killing, but I think it is done by the 

 drouth instead of the temperature. 



Prof. E. S. Goff ( Wis. ) : In our case we had an accurate 

 record of the rainfall and the temperature. The lowest tempera- 

 ture in our orchard — and the record was taken just at the top of the 

 hill only a few feet distant from the highest part of our orchard — 

 the minimum temperature was 27^ degrees below zero. During 

 the autumn the rainfall was slightly less than normal, and during 

 the winter we had almost no rain before the cold snap in February'. 

 There was no question but what the roots were killed in our case. 

 Many of those trees leaved out in the spring and in most every case 

 they leaved out at the terminal bud. Furthermore we dug down in 

 a number of cases to note the condition of the roots, but we found 

 that most of the trees had lost their roots, and most of those that 

 were not killed had lost their shallow roots. Strange to say that 

 those trees that had only one or two "main roots left lived through 

 and have borne since. There is no question but what it was the roots 

 that failed. It is also true that while the surface soil was wet enough 

 for garden purposes when we got down three feet deep the ground 

 was entirely dry and had been so throughout southern Wisconsin for 

 more than two years, since the dry summer we had four or five years 

 ago. I think the ground has become wet down deeper, but this sum- 

 mer we have had only three feet of moist soil. Those were the con- 

 ditions under which root-killing occurred in our experience. 



Mr. J. S. Harris : In all my experience and observation I have 

 never known any bad cases of root-killing where there was ample 

 moisture in the soil to a depth of three or four feet. In the winter 

 of 1872 we had no moisture in the soil, but in January the ground 

 was wet down about a foot. That winter I lost all my orchard ex- 

 cept, perhaps, a few Duchess. I also lost my vinevard, and the vines 

 that were covered the deepest killed the worst. Three or four years 

 prior to 1872 they had a great drouth in Wisconsin, down in the 

 vicinity of Janesville and AMiitewater. and the killing of nursery 



