416 . MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
y 
as the Duchess and is a tardy bearer,, but a persistant bearer — 
when once it starts and a fairly good eating apple, good during Sep- 
tember. I would say that its name is misleading, as it is a fair 
sized apple. 
For later apples I would recommend any of the Hibernal family. 
I deem it one of the hardiest of apple trees, a good bearer of large 
sour apples, and, while but few would care to eat them out of the 
hand, it is an excellent cooking apple, whether for sauce, pies or 
jellies. Its season, as a rule,is not beyond December, though in 
favorable seasons with care in picking and packing it is sometimes 
kept much beyond that date. I would also advise all to try a few 
Wealthy trees, one of the finest of apples, but a tree of about second 
hardiness as compared with the Duchess or Hibernal, a tree that is 
weak in the trunk and needs especial care on that account. This 
apple is good inany form and about the same season as the Hiber- 
nal. I would also try a few of Patten’s Greenings, a large, fine apple, 
good for eating or cooking, season about as Hibernal, a tree espec- 
ially valuable on account of its freedom from blight, but probably 
not yet fully tested as to hardiness. The Anisim is coming into 
favorable notice and is a beautiful redapple, butsmall. I think the 
tree is quite hardy and with me is quite free from blight. 
What to recommend you for a late keeping apple is hard to deter- 
mine. I think, perhaps, the Repka Malenka is well worth planting, 
but its hardiness is as yet a matter of conjecture. It is, I think, 
classed about with the Wealthy. I would advise setting a few 
Malinda for the children or grandchildren to pick fruit from in case 
it lives, as it is a very tardy bearer, yet when top-worked it seems to 
get to bearing early. Itis alate keeper and of good size and fair 
quality. It is quite probable that there are various late varieties 
that can be grown to top-working on some of our extremely hardy 
trees, like the Virginia crab, Hibernal or Duchess, I feel confident 
that out of the thousands of experiments with seedlings now going 
on that a late variety, or several, will be developed entirely adapted 
to this climate. I would advise all to confine themselves to a short 
list, and the list adopted by the state horticultural society is the safe 
one to go by. 
Now in regard to planting and care of the orchard. Probably the 
most important thing is selection of varieties ; second, selection of 
location, which, in my judgment, whenever possible,should be ona 
strong northeast or north slope, with considerable declivity of 
ground beyond. Any steep hillside to the north with a retentive 
soil is favorable, a moist soil free from standing water and a slope 
of ground that will not in spring and summer reflect the rays of the 
sun on to the trunk or branches and at the same time drink up all 
the moisture of the ground—with a row of trees to the west, to break 
the direct force of the winds, but not heavy enough growth to pre- 
vent free circulation of air. This is my ideal of a location. 
When convenient, set your trees north and south, quite thickly in 
the row, say twelve to sixteen feet, and rows thirty to forty feet 
apart. Set with a strong inclination to the one o’clock sun, or if your 
sense of order is such that a view of trees so set upsets your nerves, 
