- 98 ‘ ANNUAL REPORT. 
soil of a limestone quarry ; on the-top of this and immediately : 
under the tree I shall place a thin flat stone ; over this I wil | 
set the tree, with black loam. The flat stone will prevent the | 
roots from running down into the cold, wet soil, and the refuse © 
stone will cause a slow but hardy growth. In this manner, 
and by trapping the pocket gophers and a careful watching of 
the mice, I re for success, and will give the result in the - 
future. 
REPORT OF W. B. SMITH, OWATONNA. 
Secretary Minnesota Horticultural Society : ‘ 
Dear Sir.—I am pleased with the course you are taking to 
get information in regard to fruit growing in this State, and 
will contribute my mite. 
Ist. I have about 175 trees of apples and crabs that have 
been set from one to six years. The apples are Duchess, 
Tetofsky and Ben Davis. 
2d. The Duchess and Tetofsky came through the winter 
without injury. 
4th. My soil is clay and gravel; have mulched and hoed 
until this year; have seeded it down this year. Have timber 
protection all around. Some have commenced bearing. 
7th. Wilson’s strawberry is the best here. I have some 
cherry trees taken from the roots of an old tree, that are 
doing well ; some blossomed this year, May 1873. 
FOREST TREE CULTURE. 
BY GEO. P. PEFFER, PEWAUKEE, WISCONSIN. 
In the Pantagraph, (Bloomington, IIl.,) there is an article 
headed “ Forest Preservation,’? wherein the writer mentions 
that the government should reserve our woodlands, and only 
sell the timber, and enact laws to protect it, so that the tim- 
ber can grow up again for future generations, as our forests 
in a short time will all be gone, etc., and refers to the Euro- 
pean laws on forests. [Please insert the Minnesota or U.S. 
laws on forest tree planting]. As I have some recollection 
