MINNESOTA SEEDLING APPLES. 125 



MINNESOTA SEEDLING APPLES. 



"Forty-three years ago I began the culture of fruit in Minnesota," 

 says Peter M. Gideon in The Minneapolis Farmers' Tribune. "At 

 first it was plant and replant, and trees died by thousands. As one 

 died, another was set in its place. Thus on for seventeen years, un- 

 til the Wealthy apple first fruited, having grown it from a crab seed, 

 and that result solved the problem of what to do and how to do it. 

 So we went to work crossing the common apple with the Siberian 

 crab, the hardiest variety of the apple family, and as a result we have 

 the best collection of ironclads in existence, and in quality of fruit 

 as good as the world can produce; and in succession, through sum- 

 mer, fall and early winter,and one only that generally lasts through 

 the winter. But those are not enough. The great north-west wants a 

 good collection of first-class long keepers to run through the entire 

 year, and our past success is a guarantee that it can be done, for by 

 thousands that have fruited the fact is demonstrated that an 

 apple seedling will ripen its fruit at or near the time the 

 parent apple ripened from which the seed was taken. And, 

 therefore, to get long keepers, ironclad in tree, we must plant long 

 keepers in close proximity to our best ironclads, and thus grown, 

 plant the seeds of the long keepers to get the desired results. But 

 the best of long keepers are too tender to fruit in Minnesota, a fact 

 already demonstrated. Therefore, to get the desired results, the 

 seed-growing orchard must be set further south, the seed brought 

 here and planted to test the hardiness, and after two winters the best 

 selected and sent out to applicants to be fruited. But, bear in mind, 

 not all seedlings will produce first-class fruits, though all the vari- 

 eties in seed-growing orchards are all of the best quality, for the 

 reason that our apples are all mongrels of perhaps 1,000 degrees of 

 crossings, and there is no known law by which the progeny of a 

 mongrel can be told until it develops; but in the many mongrels we 

 are sure of something good. 



"The north-west pays millions annually for winter apples that can 

 in a few years be grown at home, and of a better quality than those 

 shipped here, and could soon be an exporter instead of importer. 



"If an orchard should be set next spring, in five years it would be 

 bearing, and in five years more the trees grown from that crop of 

 seed would be fruiting. Then the north-west can be growing a full 

 supply of apples the year round. As to the cost for developing such 

 a class of apples, it would not exceed one-fourth of one cent annually 

 to each person in Minnesota. Now that an attainment is a certainty, 

 delay is a crime." 



A New Seedling Apple.— Mr. Wm.Somerville sent,Feb.9, from his 

 home at Viola, specimens of four apples which he had been keeping 

 in his cellar, viz ; Repka Malenka, Malinda, Rollin's Prolific and a 

 seedling, of which he says: "I want to call your attention especially 

 to that large red apple; it is a seedling from the second crop. The 

 tree appears to be perfectly free from blight, and the fruit hangs on 

 well into the middle of September or to the first of October. I think it 

 fully as good as the Peerless, especially in keeping qualities and 

 flavor — you be the judge." Prof. Green carried the seedling home to 

 get an outline, so it wasn't tested except by sense of smell. It was, 

 as he says, large and red, and in excellent condition, neither de- 

 cayed nor withered. Secy. 



