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REPORT OF THE SEEDLING FRUIT COMMITTEE. 249 
REPORT OF THE SEEDLING FRUIT COMMITTEE 
J. S. HARRIS, LA CRESCENT. 
(Made at Annual Meeting Dec. 7, 1897.) 
Your committee has not been as dilligent in its work as you may 
perhaps have desired or intended, or even as we expected to be. It 
was our intention to visit and examine a considerable number of 
trees in different parts of the state immediately after the close of the 
state fair, but we changed the program,so that instead we paida 
visit to the fruit region of southwest Missouri and northwest Arkan- 
gas, commonly known as the Ozark country, making a rest and re- 
creation of it as wellas getting better posted on fruit culture. 
Previous to making this trip and along in the month of August, 
we spent a few days in traveling over portions of Houston county 
and visited the orchards of Wm. Oxford, Freeburg; James Layland, 
Reno; Peter Ernster and Mrs. Stadtler, Caledonia, and several others. 
The seedlings at Mr. Layland’s were not fruiting very much but look- 
ing well. We had thought heretofore that the best variety might be 
the Knight’s seedling, or Ladyfinger, sometimes known as Red Pear- 
main, but in tracing it up and comparing with the genuine we find 
that it had its origin in Vernon county, Wisconsin, where it is known 
as Morgan seedling and proving hardy and productive. Mr. Lay- 
land’s trees are from sprouts of the roots of a tree that killed to the 
ground some 15 years since, while the sprouts were not injured. The 
trees are moderate growers but prodigous bearers in alternate years 
and so far have never blighted. The fruit is about medium size, 
very handsome; season, midwinter. The tree at Peter Ernster’ swas 
injured on one side last winter by the burning of his dwelling, but 
shows no other signs of weakness. Itis eighteen or twenty years 
old and aregular annual bearer; fruit much like the old Vandevere in 
quality but of different form; keeps well through the entire winter 
The fruit was not mature enough at that time to secure samples for 
keeping. Wethink it is hardy enough for favored locations and 
that it may prove of great value for crossing with some of the Rus- 
sians and the best Siberian hybrids to secure varieties of winter ap- 
ples more perfectly adapted to this climate, and we recommend that 
as soon asa start can be made init scions be distributed for top- 
working on some ofthe Gideon seedlings to secure crosses. 
The tree of the Eberhard seedling, at Mound Prairie, has again 
wintered all right after maturing a heavy crop last year, and again 
this year it carried several bushels of fruit. The tree is forty-two 
years old, and the present owner says it has never missed fruiting 
but once in over thirty years. Of course, this is considered to be 
about the most favored part of the state forapple growing, and va- 
rieties doing well here might not do as well in more unfavorable 
locations; yet they are worthy of trial and will certainly aid us 
through the production of seedlings in the advancing of the culti- 
vation of good winter apples considerably further north. 
The orchards of H.C. Decker, of Dresbach, and J.C. Kramer, La 
Crescent, contain a number of seedlings that fruited very heavily 
this year. The trees are generally looking well but are yet too 
