250 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
a 
young to form an estimate of their value. The Oxford Orange trees, 
of Wm. Oxford, at Freeburg, after bearing an enormous crop in 1896, 
again this year bore a very heavy crop, while the trees are hardy and 
healthy here. The fruit is very fair and keeps well until the holi- 
days. Itis also doing well at the LaCrescent station. A few young 
trees of it can be furnished for trial. 
On August 27th we visited the seedling orchard of Thomas 
Lightly, in Freeborn county. The orchard contains about sixty 
seedling trees, procured of Peter M. Gideon several years since. 
They were carrying a good crop of fruit of fine appearance and pre- 
sented a sight that was worth going many miles to behold. We 
have had the trees numbered, so that F. W. Kimball, of Austin, or 
your committee know where to find each variety, and we have made 
FOSSBURG. 
descriptions of about fifteen of the varieties. The trees have never 
been given much care orcultivation but generally appear to be 
thrifty and healthy, except some that were badly gnawed by mice 
last winter; but most of them will probably recover. This ought to 
prove a warning to every one who has a promising seedling to send 
a few scions to trial stations to be propagated and tested, so that the 
variety may not be lost through some accident. We also on the fol- 
lowing day visited a number of trees at Austin and Rose Creek and 
in that vicinity but did not think any of them of any special value, 
unless it might be a Duchess seedling of J.C. Walker, at Rose Creek. 
The tree looks fine but was not bearing this year, and we have never 
seen the fruit of it. 
Few samples have been sent to us for examinaion during the year: 
We are always glad to receive specimens, and if they are received in 
good condition place them on record by making outlines and de- 
scriptions. For this purpose the specimens should be of good aver- 
