138 ANNUAL REPORT 



the best seedling for all purposes. This tree and one other are 

 the only survivors of a batch of near thirty varieties that were 

 grown from seed planted thirty years ago. They were raised 

 from seed procured in Canada and saved from an orchard of un- 

 grafted trees that has now been fruiting over one hundred years. 

 This tree has never been seriously injured, at least so for as pres- 

 ent appearances show. The trunk measures forty-four inches in 

 circumference two feet above the ground, is growing in clay soil, 

 upon high ground sloping to the southeast. The trunk is clear 

 of scars and blemishes. The top is large and open. It is stand- 

 ing in timothy sod and has not been mulched; is an annual bearer 

 of very good fall fruit, and appears to be in as good condition as 

 Duchess upon the same place. Season of fruit, October. Both 

 surviving trees lean toward the northeast. The other has been 

 seriously injured by sun -scald on southwest side. 



IN WISCONSIN. 



October 30fh. — We look over the orchards and nurseries of E. 

 Wilcox, near La Crosse, Wis. Mr. Wilcox is an enthusiastic 

 experimentalist, and his experience in fruit growing in Eastern 

 Minnesota and Western Wisconsin extends over a period of about 

 twenty -five years, and during that time he has sustained many 

 serious losses. His present orchard is in a narrow valley about 

 three miles east of La Crosse, and his nursery upon the top of the 

 bluff back of it and about four hundred and fifty feet above the 

 Mississippi Eiver. The orchard has an outlook toward the west; 

 a part of the ground is level, but the most of it a more or less 

 steep side hill. The soil varies from a sandy to a clayey loam, 

 with exposures to the south, west and north. As a rule trees 

 upon the northern slope were doing much the best, but the Duch- 

 ess, Tetofsky and the Wealthy, when top-worked upon hardy 

 stocks, were doing fairly well upon the south slope. In the ex- 

 perimental department he has gathered together every rej)uted 

 hardy variety of seedlings that could be obtained, and a number 

 of Russian varieties. These are generally worked upon the tops 

 of other trees in order to first test the quality of the fruit. Several 

 of them survived the late severe winters and are now in perfect 

 health. As fiist as they fruit and show valuable qualities they 

 will be further tested as root grafts. Three or four of them bore 

 fruit this season — 1886. We sampled them and found one 

 that is evidently a good keeper and perfectly hardy as a top 



