104 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Mr. Mill’s farm is pleasantly located on the top of a bluff. The 
soil is retentive sandy loam, Here we found many largetrees, Arbor 
vitae were thirty ft. high and twenty-six in. in circumference; Euro- 
pean larch, set thirty years, forty-five ft. high and twenty-four in. in 
circumterence; Norway pine set thirty years, forty ft. high and forty 
in, in circumference; and white pine set thirty years were forty-five ft. 
high and forty-five in.in circumference. Mr. Mills has several acres 
in small fruit. The fruit crop this year, including blackberries, rasp- 
berries and strawberries, was destroyed by frost. The raspberries, 
apple trees and shade trees were badly eaten by caterpillars. Apple 
trees are looking poor, probably on account of the depredations of 
insects. A peculiar stink bug infects the corn and berries. 
We went from Mr. Mill’s place to Lake Crystal on our wheels and 
there took the train to Mountain Lake. 
Mountain Lake is a Mennonite town, having a population of about 
1,000 and situated ona gently rolling prairie. It has every appear- | 
ance of thrift and comfort. The grounds about the houses are well ; 
kept, neat and often ornamented with trees and shrubs. There are 
many small, well kept and thrifty young orchards in its vicinity. ; 
The farmers appear prosperous and have good houses and barns, 
The houses in general have shutters at the windows. Many of the 
people use brick ovens and burn manure to heat them, but some of 
the more progressive have given up this practice. 
We visited Peter J. Dick and found him on a load of wheat, bare- 
footed. He cannot talk English, so we talked through the boy as 
interpreter. Mr. Dick has a small good orchard one mile south of 
town. The older trees were planted twenty years ago. Three years 
ago he sold $160 worth of apples and last year $75. Most of his trees 
are Wealthy and Duchess, but he has Plumb Cider, Haas and a 
variety which we thought was Utter, the trees of which were large, 
sound and doing well. Trees of the Wealthy were measured twenty- 
eight in. in circumference and were heavily loaded with highly col- 
ored fruit. The Plumb Cider were twenty-five in. in circumference; 
trees perfect and large. The Duchess trees were large and bearing 
well. 
Mr. Dick has a Russian mulberry hedge, about two feet high, ' 
trimmed square on the top, that is doing well. A hedge of Salix 
purpurea on his place, trimmed the same way, looks very orna- | 
mental. 
After leaving Mr. Dick’s place, we rode on our wheels to Peter 
Marten’s, a distance of three miles. Mr. Marten has a good small / 
orchard composed of Duchess, Wealthy, Minnesota, and large trees 
of what we thought were Utterand Plumb Cider. Trees of the Minne- 
sota measured ten in. in diameter and were sound and thrifty. I 
should think the large trees in his orchard had been planted over 
twenty years. He has one thorn pear tree four in. in diameter. 
From Mountain Lake we went to Windom by way of Bingham 
lake, a distance of about thirteen miles, on our wheels. We arrived 
at 8 P. M. and spent the night there. 
