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AMONG THE ORCHARDS OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA. 103 
AMONG THE ORCHARDS 
OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA. 
PROF. S, B. GREEN, STATE EXPERIMENT STATION, ST. ANTHONY PARK. 
Mr. Clarence Wedge and I, each of us with his bicycle, met at 
Mankato at noon, August 23d. From there we took the train to Ver- 
- non Center and visited H. W. Nelson’s place, which is about two or 
three miles from the station. Mr. Nelson’s orchard was planted 
about twenty years ago and consists of Whitney, Wealthy, Duchess; 
Hibernal and Longfield. The trees of all varieties are now in good 
condition but look as though they had had a hard time. All bore 
well last year. The Duchess bore just as well this year, and the 
Whitney always bears. The fruit of the Hibernal ripens all at once 
and hangs on the tree better than the Wealthy. This farm has been 
rented to tenants eighteen years. The orchard has evidently been 
in sod most of the time and neglected. 
From Mr. Nelson’s farm we went on our bicycles to J.S. Parks,’ a 
distance of nine miles. Mr, Parks’ place is pleasantly located on 
gently rolling prairie, at Pleasant Mound, about eight miles from 
Amboy. It was evident from first sight that some one lived there 
who loved trees. Mr. Parks was formerly in the nursery business 
and has raised very many seedling apples. Hecommenced planting 
windbreaks and groves of many kinds of trees, including white elm, 
white maple, ash, white willow, cottonwood, catalpa, white pine, 
honey locust and black locust. The trees in the grove are large 
but, generally, too close. We measured white pine and catalpa ten 
inches through at four feet from the ground and thirty feet high; 
honey locust nine inches through and thirty feet high. All of these 
are sound and good except possibly the catalpa. The black wal- 
nut does well here. The black locust is badly injured by borers and 
has sprouted from the roots. 
In the orchard, a part of which consists of trees left as they were 
in the nursery rows, we found quite a number of Wolf River trees 
that are sound and good. They spread about thirty feet and are 
nine inches through. Some of the trees of this variety begin to 
show signs of decay inthe trunk. Mr. Parks was one of the first to 
plant it in this state and thinks highly of it, but says itis a tardy 
bearer. It is productive and keeps well into the winter, but it is bet- 
terasafallapple. He has Tallman Sweet trees in good condition, 
nine inches through, that spread thirty feet. The Haas and 
Fameuse apples and Hyslop, Sweet Russet and Montreal Wax crabs 
are doing well. He prizes the Sweet Russet highly and this is the 
report from every one who hasit. The trees of the Montreal Wax 
are large, leafy,sound and good. The fruit is pointed and about the 
size of the Hyslop. Mr. Parks exhibited 112 varieties of apples at 
the last county fair, among them many seedlings. In 1896 he sold 
400 or 500 bushels, at 50c per bushel. He has one variety of wild 
plum that is extraordinarily infected with black knot, but it does 
not seem to spread to other sorts. 
- After taking supper here we went to Amboy on our wheels and 
spent the night there. In the morning we took the train to Garden 
City and had breakfast there before visiting the place of L. D. Mills. 
