60 ANNUAL REPORT 



State, as well as to the originator of the apple, Mr. Gideon. The 

 Peter and the Gideon are also valuable varieties. What we need is a 

 few more such apples as the Wealthy, that are long keepers; and we 

 hope that Mr. Gideon, or some other Northwestern man, will give us 

 the desired fruit. 



There is a lesson here that we all can profit by. My advice is, for 

 every man tf) plant all the good seeds from all the good apples that 

 come in your way. It is an old saying and a true one, that one seed 

 of an apple will give a corresponding apple of the parent; the othc^rs 

 may be better or they may be inferior. I know the kind of seeds that 

 I have planted in my orchard, in Grundy county, and I know I had 

 one hundred and seventeen different varieties at the Storey County 

 fair one year — distinct varieties. Many of them were very choice 

 apples; some were very poor. I have some kinds on which I have 

 taken five or six state premiums, in Iowa. By my experimenting in 

 this way it has been the means of enlisting several of my neighbor 

 farmers in the growing of seedlings down there. I have been grow- 

 ing them for the last ten years. I believe if those present would plant 

 seeds of our native seedling trees, crossed and fertilized with our best 

 Russian varieties that we would succeed in a few years in producing 

 the very best apple which can be grown anywhere, and that we would 

 soon place apples within the reach of every farmer of this Northwest- 

 era country. 



In this book there are over fifty varieties of apples mentioned. 

 While I am talking, there is one new fruit mentioned of a seedling of 

 an unknown parentage, originating, I think, in South Carolina, 

 which is said to be devoid of either blossom, seed or core; it is said to 

 be a very good apple, keeping till April and May, in its own climate. 

 It is something I never read of before, but it is in print here and I 

 suppose it must be true. It is a sweet apple, of deep, orange yellow, 

 and the season is claimed to be from April to May; an unknowu seed- 

 ling. How true it is, I would rather say after seeing the apple. 



This seems to be an instance where a new variety of apple has been 

 originated by the planting of seeds, originating a variety destitute of 

 see.is, and nature having done the balance. 



If this Society will adopt the plan of establishing experimental sta- 

 tions and will take some of its best men, who will give their time, or 

 who will work at their leisure at experimenting in a practical way, 

 you will find it of advantage and you will be improved by it — the 

 whole of you. 



Mr. Harris. These reports of the Department of Agriculture are 



