STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 453 



repays them well for the twenty years spent in working for the 

 advancement of the Society. 



This fair has a magnitude second only to the state fair. In 

 most departments the exhibits were full and good. The fruit 

 department was attractive, instructive, and only lacked the 

 Minnetonka grapes to make it excel that of the late state fair. 

 The leading exhibitor was A. W. Sias, who made an entry for a 

 general display and showed a great variety of American, Rus- 

 sian and hybrids, securing the first prize as a professional. 

 William Somerville, of Viola, had a general display of winter 

 and autumn varieties and a large collection of Siberians and 

 hybrids. He took the first prize on general collection as an 

 amateur. His collection had in it several fine varieties of 

 Eussians and a few of the Rollins seedlings. His orchard has 

 fruited abundantly this year and we are informed that he has 

 already marketed four hundred bushels. N^ext came Sidney 

 Corp, of Hammond, and every entry he made took a prize, every 

 ribbon blue but one, and it only lacked three varieties in the col- 

 lection to decorate that with the same popular color. He showed 

 the largest and best Wealthies ever grown in this or any other 

 state; had several plates of McMahan's White, a seedling from 

 Richmond County, Wisconsin. This fruit is very large, perfect 

 in form, of pleasing af)pearance, season said to be December or 

 January. This apple stood the winter of 1884-5 about as well as the 

 Duchess, and promises to be well adapted to Southeastern Min- 

 nesota. Mr. C. also showed some varieties of the Rollins seed- 

 lings and a few of the Russians, one of which, the Autumn 

 Streaked, promises to be a valuable variety, its season closely 

 following the Duchess. Twenty years ago Mr. Corp could show 

 nothing better than Siberian crabs. R. L. Cotterell, of Dover 

 Centre, showed a great variety of apples and grapes. J. W. 

 Hart, of the same place, had a collection of seedlings, two of 

 which are remarkably fine. Wm. McHenry, of St. Charles, had 

 a general exhibit of apples and plums; of the latter there were 

 seven or eight varieties, most conspicuous among them a variety 

 named the Weaver, a free-stone of excellent quality. W. O. 

 Crittendon, of Dover Centre, had a large display, mostly hy- 

 brids: and a farmer from Viola made a splendid showing of 

 Wealthy, Duchess and Hybrids. O. M. Lord, of Minnesota 

 City, showed ten varieties of cultivated native plums in glass 

 jars; conspicuous among them was the Rollingstone. There 

 were four or five exhibitors of grapes, and several of single 

 plates of fruit, whose names we did not learn. 



