STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 443 



A. W. Slas, President Olmsted Count)/ HorticuUiiral Society: 



Dear Sir: — Your favor of recent date inviting me to be pre- 

 sent at your annual meeting is received. I hasten to reply, and 

 regret that a press of other duties will preclude the possibility 

 of meeting with you on the occasion mentioned. 



I trust you will call attention to the near approach of our an- 

 nual meeting, and will extend to the members of your local 

 society a cordial invitation to attend the same and participate in 

 the discussions and deliberations. I have no doubt that some 

 matters of more than usual interest to horticulturists will be 

 presented. 



One of the most timely subjects to be discussed and jjroperly 

 considered at this time, is the method to be employed to secure 

 hardy varieties of fruit trees for Minnesota and the JS'orthwest. 

 Our severe winters have had the effect of thinning out our or- 

 chards and nurseries, till there are very few varieties left that 

 can be relied upon with any satisfaction or degree of certainty to 

 produce a crop of fruit. 



It is undoubtedly true that too little care has been exercised 

 with regard to the selection of hardy, vigorous stock and the 

 kinds that mature and ripen their wood early in the season, and 

 of late the question of how to obtain some of the better Eussian 

 varieties of ajDples has been a prominent subject at our meetings. 

 Experience has demonstrated the great value of many of these 

 sorts which have been propagated to some extent in this State 

 and in states adjoining. The experiments being made will surely 

 result in the bringing out of a few varieties, sooner or later, of 

 equal value with the well-known Duchess, so universally popular 

 Mith the farmers of the Northwest. By means of judicious 

 crossing with our native seedlings there will be an improvement 

 in the quality of the varieties to be produced. 



Of late a method of crossing has been introduced with success 

 by using the pollen on such hardy winter trees as may be found 

 among our native sorts and fertilizing, or crossing, with such 

 Eussian varieties as the Hybernal, Lieby, Ostrekoff Glass, or 

 other true ironclads. It is found that the pollen may be even 

 sent in a letter, and after being kept for several days will germi- 

 nate. By using such means to obtain a stock of required hardi- 

 ness the crossed seedling will generally be found to follow the 

 characteristics of the parent tree. The method is receiving at- 

 tention from the fact that it is desirable to obtain choice winter 

 apples of proper hardiness for this climate, and as being consid- 



