HORTICULTURE AT THE STATE FAIR, 1897. 377 



g-athered from a careful perusal of the list of premiums awarded 

 which is published elsewhere. 



A hasty count shows the different classes of fruit exhibited, as 

 follows: 



Plates. 



Collections of apples by professionals 738 



Single plates •' ' " 120 



Total 858 



Collections of apples by amateurs 505 



Single plates " " " 164 



Total 669 



Crabs and hj'brid apples, by both classes 156 



.Seedling apples, including crabs and hybrids, by both classes 322 



Plates of apples by State Experiment Station , 90 



Shown by the management on the World's Fair booth 88 



Total apples exhibited 2,183 



Grapes exhibited 324 



Plums " 198 



Pears " 3 



Peaches " 3 



Total of all classes 2,721 



Of the three plates of pears shown two were grown by Mr. J. S. 

 Harris, and one by Mr. Clarence Wedge. The peaches were from Mr. 

 M. Pearce. Two plates of the latter were fully ripe when gathered 

 in the middle of Aug^ustand had not, apparently, chang-ed a particle 

 in the excellent cold storage where the state fair fruit is kept. Evi- 

 dently a much larger exhibit of this fruit is practicable if these 

 facilities are taken advantage of, as manj^ Minnesotans are now 

 trying a few peach trees. 



Although this handsome showing- of fruits received only words of 

 cotnmeudation, yet those who are conversant with the situation are 

 aware that generallj'^ it lacked the size and hig-h color which usually 

 characterizes Minnesota fruit. A glance at the tables in the lig^ht 

 of remembrance of previous exhibits showed too plainly the greens 

 and light blush where in other years appeared the delicate yellow 

 and brilliant red belong-ing to the fully ripened apple under the 

 stimulus of the clear Minnesota air and the brilliant sunshine. That 

 the season was two weeks late detracted necessarily from the beauty 

 of the display, though not from the credit of the exhibitor. This 

 was even more noticeable in the grape exhibit, and the exhibitors in 

 this class are to be specially commended for their efforts in making- 

 a creditable showing- under these discouraging- conditions. 



No special notes were taken by the writer of the plum exhibit, but 

 the number of plates shown indicates a large one. It filled the space 

 under the four glass frames in the World's Fair booth. Besides a 

 full array of the cultivated natives, several varieties of blue plums 

 were shown, one of which, the Shipper's Pride, from the farm of 

 Nils Anderson, of Lake City, a fruit of extraordinary size, attracted 

 much attention. 



Mr. E. A. Cuzner sent two of his English frame cucumbers, just 

 the size and shape for "Paddy's" shillelah. They were regarded as 

 a great novelty. * 



The display of ninety plates of apples from the Experiment Sta- 

 tion as against fifty shown last year may be considered indicative of 

 the development of pomology under the care of our horticulturist 

 there, Prof. S. B. Green. 



