474 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



pleasant sub-acid, good; season, October to December; use, all pur- 

 poses; origin, Russia. 



The tree is a medium strong grower in the orchard, commences to 

 bear when very young and is inclined to bear very heavily; and pro- 

 bably one acre of them well cared for will produce forty barrels in the 

 sixth year from planting, and thereafter more fruit per year accord- 

 ing to age than any other variety known. The tree is believed to be 

 healthier and longer lived than the Wealthj^and to be equally as 

 hardy. 



TREE GROWING ON THE COTEAUX OF 

 SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA. 



F. F. PRATT, CAMDEN. 

 (Mr. Pratt is at present connected with the Experiment Station at Crookston.) 



The Coteau Experiment Station is situated in the southwestern 

 part of this state, in Lyon count}', on the farm of Mr. O. C. Gregg, 

 our worthy superintendent of Farmers" Institutes. 



The farm gets its name "coteau" from a range of hills which 

 extends across this portion of the country. The country'- adjoining 

 those hills is rather high and rolling, especially in the western 

 part of Lyon count5^ The average altitude of Lyon county, as 

 given by Twitchel, is about 1,200 feet, and at this farm it is 1,500, 

 having the highest altitude of any of our prairie counties, I be- 

 lieve, except Yellow Medicine, which joins it on the north and west. 



The soil is a rich black loam, being from a few inches to eight- 

 een inches thick on the prairie. The subsoil is a whitish clay 

 which is very compact. This country for the most part is prairie, 

 excepting the borders of the Redwood river and other small 

 streams and lakes, or, rather, where lakes once were, where there 

 are quite a variety of trees and shrubs found growing, showing 

 that both climate and soil are suitable for them. 



If there is one thing more than another that this country is noted 

 for, it is its heavy winds and the frequency with which they occur. 

 The prevailing winds are from the southwest and the northwest, 

 and it seems as though this country is their battle ground. These 

 winds are partly due to the altitude of the countr3^ G. E. Curtiss, 

 an employe of the U. S. Weather Bureau, has inade a study of the 

 hot winds of this region and speaks of thein as follows: "In rare 

 cases hot winds may scorch and byrn vegetation while there is still 

 moisture in the soil. It is especial]}^ apt to injure wheat when it 

 is in the milk and also corn when it is beginning to tassel or ear; 

 but, in general, hot winds do not affect the crops until bj-^ evapora- 

 tion they have drained the moisture from the soil." 



The causes of hot winds as noted by Mr. Curtiss are as follows: 

 "The necessary condition is a diminishing pressure to the north- 

 ward, producing southerly winds, which elevate the temperature 

 above the normal. A cloudless sky favors an intense insolation, 

 as a result of which the dry ground is soon raised to an extreme 

 temperature, and the air is heated from it by radiation, reflection and 

 conduction. The diminution of the density, due to the rising tem- 



