to still keep trying until we help demonstrate the fact, ‘‘ We do raise 
fruit,” the croakers to the contrary notwithstanding. We find that all 
kinds of our hardy apples suffered equally. They seem to root-kill, the 
cause we charge to lack of moisture in the soil, as in some instances in 
low moist spots the trees suffered very little. We lost some Duchess, 
Haas and Fameuse in nursery row, while in orchard they stood well. Two- 
year-old trees suffered the least. Our grapes suffered with other fruits ; 
still Concord and Delaware are our favorites. We think they hurt before 
winter set in by early freezing. We look for good results in the hybridi- 
zation of the apple by the crab, and think we can add to our hardy list by 
this method. Our trial of the Wealthy proves it to be very hardy; we 
never lost one tree of it. We have a seedling of the Yellow Bellflower, 
which we found growing on the farm of Mr.Burns, of this county, which 
has the appearance of being a cross of the Bellflower and the Yellow 
Siberian, the fruit being of the Bellflower type and the tree of the Sibe’ 
rian family. The original tree stood last winter and bore two and a half 
bushels of nice fruit the last summer. The few trees we had in our nursery 
row were not injured. We had specimens of the fruit saved, but unfor- 
tunately they got frozen, so we cannot present it as intended. We call 
it the Burns’ Winter, as it is a good winter keeper, and shall at some 
future time present it to you for examination. 
Accepted and ordered to be filed with the haces opie of 
this meeting. 
A report was also read ‘io E. P. Evans, Brownsville, 
Houston county, for the counties of Houston, Minn., and Ver- 
non, Wisconsin. (See Reports and Miscellaneous Papers.) 
ed 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 
Gentlemen of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society : 
The constitution of our society makes it my duty to deliver 
an annual address, but, fortunately, does not prescribe the 
length, breadth and depth of such an address, consequently I 
shall endeavor to make it as short as_ possible, knowing that 
brevity will be its chief ornament. Since we last met in coun- 
cil, one year ago, there have been many and great changes in 
regard to hardy fruits in the State of Minnesota, or the entire 
Northwest, and even extending over New England and the 
whole northern limit of fruit culture, and I apprehend that 
but few in this or any other society would to-day advocate as 
iron-clad or even hardy, what was considered one year ago as 
hardy as the oaks, or nearly so. The losses of 1872 and 1873 
will long be remembered in Minnesota. But as heavy and se- 
vere as our losses were to individuals, myself not excepted, I 
firmly believe they will, in the end, prove a great blessing 
and save millions of dollars to our State in the future; for 
had it not have been for last winter’s severity and losses coming | 
just as we thought we had a list of trees capable of withstand- 
8 
MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 53 
