108 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAT. SOCIETY. 



HEAVY BEARING IN 1892. 

 On the college grounds, the Russian varieties that were not very 

 heavily loaded in 1891 bore heavy crops in 1892. In all parts of 

 Iowa, this report has been constant. At the meetings of the two 

 northern Iowa horticultural societies in December, at Cherokee and 

 Humboldt, the fruit tables were well loaded with clean, perfect fruit. 

 At the meeting at Corning, in southwestern Iowa, it was assumed that 

 the large fruit crop in the northern half of Iowa was made possible 

 by lessened rains during the blossoming period; but our weather 

 service reports show far more rainfall at this critical period at the 

 north. Careful inquiry will develop the fact that the bearing trees 

 were Russian, or the Russian seedlings above named. We can 

 only conclude that the increased crop resulted from (exemption 

 from) scab and, possibly in part, from the fact that the Duchess and 

 most other Russian sorts have thicker and firmer flowers in all 

 their parts than the west European varieties, which enables them 

 to endure climatic extremes. 



TENDENCY TO BLIGHT. 

 . As a rule, without known exception, the varieties from the coast 

 provinces of Russia are as subject to blight as are the Siberian 

 crabs. Yet we find among the varieties from St. Petersburg many that 

 are not more subject to blight than the Duchess or Grimes' Golden; 

 but careful inquiry will show that such varieties are strays from 

 the interior provinces. As a rule, with very few exceptions, the 

 varieties from the Volga provinces and those from the black soil 

 region where dent corn, melons and tomatoes ripen are as free 

 from blight as the best of our common varieties. Our reports up to 

 the present show that fully ninety varieties are fully as free from, 

 the disease as the Roman Stem. It is now well known that the Rus- 

 sian apples run in families. In every case we find some varieties of 

 ever}' family free from blight, or as nearly free as any variety we 

 have. Even the Y''ellow Transparent family has its non-blighting 

 varieties. Our wide distribution of the past twelve years for trial 

 on varied soils and exposures has told the stoi-y as to tendency to 

 blight in a very conclusive way. 



WIDE ADAPTATION. 



It has been a matter of surprise to find that some of the Russian 

 apples thrive well and bear heavy crops of perfect fruit beside the 

 orange groves of southern California, where our common varieties 

 of the apple of west European parentage fail in foliage and fruit. 

 For instance, the most perfect and fruitful varieties of the apple in 

 the vicinity of Pomona, in south California, are the Duchess, Alex- 

 ander and Winter Aport (No. 2.'i2). A number of examples of this 

 kind have led to placing the Rvissian fruits on trial at all the sta- 

 tions of California. It is also found that some of the Russian 

 apples and cherries are thriving and bearing better in Texas and 

 Florida than any of the common sorts of the Eastern states. Those 

 who have spent a summer at Saratov on the Volga will not be sur- 

 prised with this statement. All vegetation must there endure a de- 

 gree of heat and aridity of air such as is not known at many points 



