MINNESOTA SEEDLING APPLES. 297 



MINNESOTA SEEDLING APPLES. 



J. S. HARRIS, LA CRESCEXT, 



Mr. President and Friends: The Harris mill is a little out of 

 order this morning,but the seedling apple business in this state 

 is on a " boom," and the boom will not subside until we have a 

 pomology of our own, full and complete, composed of varieties 

 equal to any that have ever been known. beautiful and pleasing 

 to the eye, filling every season from midsummer until midsum- 

 mer appears again. It needs no seer to prophecy that within 

 one decade, with the present stage of the Minnesota State 

 Horticultural Society, that of the apples raised in Minnesota 

 and the northwest the majority will be varieties originating 

 upon our own soil. It needs no prophet to foretell that before 

 this society reaches its fiftieth, or semi-centennial, anniversary, 

 our pomology will be composed of lists of varieties the names 

 of which are not yet known, but they will be varieties of the 

 most beautiful shape, of the brightest color and in flavor rival- 

 ling the wine of the gods. (Applause.) 



At no time in the history of our country and in no state of the 

 Union has there ever been so deep an interest felt or such perserv^er- 

 ing efforts made to originate new varieties of apples bj' the process 

 of planting of seeds, not onl3' the promiscuous seeds from the most 

 northern matured fruit but caret ull}' selected seed of both thorough- 

 bred and crossbred species of the pyrus famil3^ as within the last 

 five years. Increasing knowledge of the laws of nature, the skill ot 

 the professors of horticulture at our experiment stations and the 

 zeal of our fruit lovers everywhere is being concentrated on the 

 work of originating new varieties of apples and will not cease until 

 the extreme limit of improvement is reached and we have secured a 

 pomolog3' of our own embracing an ample number of varieties of 

 the highest quality to suit all tastes, cover all seasons and fitted 

 for every use to which this king of fruits is adapted. New varieties 

 are springing up b}' thousands, and it needs no " seer to foretell 

 what the outcome will be or to prophecy that before this societj^ has 

 added another decade to its age more than half of the apples pro- 

 duced in this state will be of the seedling variety originated on our 

 own soil, and that before it celebrates its seini-centennial anniver- 

 sary the Duchess, most of the new Russians and all of the older 

 Americana will be dropped from our lists or only a fond memory of 

 their past good ofifices cherished, and their places will have been 

 filled with varieties as hardy and reliable as the bur oak, as rich in 

 quality as the Seek-No-Further and Nonsuch, full of exquisite juices, 

 perfect in form and arrayed in colors rivaling the rainbow in 

 purity." 



Our seedlings, what are ihey'r Some are descendents of true 

 native Americans, some are the offspring of that hardy race long' 

 inured to the cold, drouthy winters of far off Russia, some the de- 



