242 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



APPLES. 



R. n. BUTTERMOKE, LAKE CITY. 



In this district I am glad to report that this season apple trees 

 have done well, better a good deal than we expected last year. The 

 late frosts visited us again last spring, which I feared would do the 

 apple trees a great deal of damage. On the nights of the 11th, 

 12th and 13th of May, 189.0, there were very severe frosts — just when 

 the apple trees were in bloom and looked grand, and I feared another 

 short crop and more ill results to the apple trees, bu L to my astonish- 

 ment they proved not to be so badly hurt after all and had quite a 

 crop of apples. The late spring of 1894, and the intense prolonged 

 drought stunted the trees so badly, that I was anxious to see how 

 they would come out this summer,and to my pleasure thej- started 

 from the frostbitten buds of the previous year and grew right along 

 and are in splendid condition for next year's crop. 



The most of mj^ apple trees and what I have seen in inj^ travels 

 are doing well, but the Earl}' Strawberr}' and the Minnesota blighted 

 more than usual. A great many of our apples this last spring were 

 wormy and deformed. I sprayed my trees three tiines, commencing 

 after the blossoms fell off. The insecticides which I used were Paris 

 green mixed with hellebore and once with salt. The results were 

 not as I wished, but as to the destruction of a great many parasites 

 and injurious insects I have no doubts. 



I had some beautiful specimens of apples last season, had beauti- 

 ful Whitney's and other kinds as delicious as pears. When we take 

 the light, healthful, invigorating atmosphere which is infused into 

 our Minnesota fruit into consideration, I think we can say we beat 

 the world in healthful fruit. To show how the American fruit is 

 appreciated in other countries, I will give you an article from a cor- 

 respondent in Glasgow, Scotland, to the Farmers' Review, Chicago, 

 Illinois. He writes as follows: "Fruit here is rarely eaten by the 

 cominon people except when some brave j'outh has risked being 

 jailed, and under the cover of night stolen a pillow-slip full. The 

 orchards are watched like a jeweler's store in America, and the pains 

 and penalties for picking even a fallen apple are excessively' severe- 

 Our apples are generally good and retail at from 7 to 15 cents per 

 pound. Those froin the United States are always most in demand 

 and bring the highest prices. Notwithstanding the great imports 

 from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and other places, fruit is ex- 

 ceedingly scarce, and the common people never eat it except on 

 special occasions" 



I have a seedling apple tree which I prize very highlj'. It looks 

 some like the Duchess, but the apple is tinner and a longer keeper. 

 The tree never blights and is as hardy as an oak. It is about 

 twenty years old, and has been bearing fruit twelve or fourteen 

 years. Let it freeze or snow, it always has a crop of Gne apples. 

 I give it plenty of fqod by covering the ground a rod in width with 

 coarse manure. Last year I had about six bushels from it, this j^ear 

 about seven bushels. I have now a good many seedling apple trees 

 fit to transplant. 



Last year strawberries with us were a poor crop. Raspberries 

 were fairly good, also plums and grapes. 



