84 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



found at Mr. Peterson's was locking- very fine, and an excellent crop 

 had just been gathered from it. Some fifty trees of the Okabena 

 situated on the lower and most sandy edge of the orchard were look- 

 ing very healthy and bearing early and abundantly; the fruit aver- 

 ages of fine size and high color and quality. This orchard abounded 

 in interesting varieties, but the names being lost we were unable 

 to make any report on them that would be of much value. 



We were next shown Mr. Underwood's "bluff orchard," planted on 

 the north slope and near the top of a steep bluff. Although the trees 

 in this orchard have been quite recently planted and have as yet 

 borne only specimen apples, we were impressed with their healthy 

 vigorous appearance and with the great promise that such locations 

 give of being valuable, if not our best orchard sites. The laud has 

 never been broken up, as it is entirely too abrupt a slope for agricul- 

 tural purposes, but the original forest has been cut down and the 

 trees planted in large holes and kept well mulched, and with the 

 natural cool, moist forest soil and the water and air drainage which 

 the apple delights in, there is every reason to prophecy a grand 

 future for this orchard. 



MINNESOTA CITY. 



A short visit to the interesting grounds of O. M. Lord, of Minnesota 

 City, was our next move. Plums and stone fruits generally seem to 

 be at home in this alluvial valley soil, but we also found many vari- 

 eties of apples, including some new seedlings, looking well, although 

 blight has been severe in late years. The Rollingstone and Cheney 

 are among Mr. Lord's favorites, the former on account of its high 

 quality and fine shipping character, the latter on account of its 

 earliness, size and fine flavor. The Cotterell, Hall's Peach, Comfort, 

 Gaylord and many others are promising. Russian plums are 

 decidely inferior in appearance and fruitfulness of trees to the best 

 American varieties, although they may improve with age. Mr. 

 Lord has a number of peach trees of several varieties that are in 

 bearing and that look healthy and promising. The fruit, like most 

 of the Minnesota grown peaches we have tasted, lacked in richness 

 and flavor and does not give much encouragement to continue this 

 somewhat expensive experiment. While the soil at this point appeared 

 to be light, permanent moisture seems to be within easy reach of the 

 roots of trees and plants, making it almost an ideal location for most 

 fruits except the apple, for which it is lacking in elevation. 



LA CRESCENT. 



We arrived at the home of "our" Mr. Harris, of La Crescent, late in 

 the evening of August 7th. We were expecting to spend the early 

 morning hours of the next day in looking over his grounds, which 

 are, perhaps, the most interesting of any experimental grounds in 

 the state, but a heavy shower began very soon after daylight and 

 our opportunity of doing any valuable work at this place was about 

 spoiled. Theorchard here is situated on the lower slope of the bluff, 

 which rises to the height of several hundred feet. The orchard and 

 vineyard form a semicircle, enclosing a fruit and market garden of 

 several acres. This arrangement taken in connection with the view 



