154 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Mr, Kimball: Mr. Cotta, of Illinois, told me he had discard- 

 ed the Virginia. 



Mr. Philips: Mr. Phoenix wrote to me he had discarded it 

 because of blight. He used the Shield's crab. I asked him 

 how long either of them had been bearing. I thought I could 

 learn something. I found he had never fruited an apple on 

 either of those stocks, so I concluded my experience was worth 

 more than his. The Virginia is good enough for me. 



Mr. Smith: I got a letter from parties down there giving 

 the same recommendation for the Shield's as he had. I got five 

 hundred, and I do not want any more. They blighted as bad as 

 the Transcendent. They were not a vigorous grower. 



Pres. Underwood: Would it not be a better way for the 

 nurserymen to set out the Virginia crab and get them started? 



Mr. Philips: That is the way; buy your Virginia crabs of 

 the nurserymen, and then you can bud them to suit yourselves. 



Mr. Kimball: You take the rank and file, and the question is 

 to get it before the people. Top working trees is all right, but 

 how are we going to get the people to take advantage of it? It 

 is an easy matter to top work or graft, but, how are the people 

 going to know how to do it? 



Mr. Philips: I said when I commenced, it is a hard subject 

 to get before the people. I show a man my trees and tell him 

 just how the thing is done, and the chances are he'll say, " I 

 would not go to all that trouble; I would rather buy my apples." 

 There is no way of getting it before the people, if they don't 

 care to know anything about it. 



Mr. C L. Smith: The way to get this before the people, to 

 get them interested in horticulture, is to write it up and spread 

 it before them through the public press. This matter came up 

 last winter, and I had a short sketch in the paper, and I got a 

 number of inquiries from farmers' boys who wanted to know 

 something about grafting, and at an expense of a few cents I 

 sent them a few grafts and buddings to show them how it was 

 done, and they did some grafting, and I have reports from four 

 boys in Minnesota who did successful grafting, and if we do a 

 little work in that direction we can get it before the people. 

 We must agree on what is the proper thing to do; if one says 

 this, and another says that, our instruction will fall flat. If we 

 agree on what is the right thing and then spread it before the 

 people through the public press, we will accomplish some good, 

 because the boys in Minnesota are taking an interest in horti- 



