326 ANNUAL REPORT 



IN WINONA COUNTY. 



We will now review the history of apple growing in our State. In 

 the fall of 1851, John Shaw, of Exter, Maine, gathered by the aid of 

 his neighbors from ten to twelve quarts of apple seed. He arrived at 

 Minnesota^City in the spring of 1852, and after having selected apiece 

 of land prepared a piece of ground in the timber for his apple seeds. 

 He only lived to see the seed come up, and his dying request was that 

 the trees should be divided among the members of the colonial associ- 

 ation to which he belonged. This was done; enough to plant a large 

 orchard being kept by the widow. All the farms in the neighborhood 

 had enough for a good orchard, when the seedlings had attained suf- 

 ficient size, r Here is the first record I can find of the beginning of 

 apple'growing in the best fruit district in our State. It is recorded of 

 this lot'of trees that their product in one year was between five and 

 six thousand bushels. 



In the fairof 1871, traveling as a member of the committee Ad In- 

 Urum for this Society, I visited the original orchard of the widow of 

 Mr. Shaw and found about three hundred trees in heavy bearing, 

 bringing in a handsome income. I think it was in that year that it 

 bore 600 bushels. I am told that some of the trees were very produc- 

 tive up to 1884-5. Taking it for granted they began to bear when 

 seven years old, we find they were in bearing twenty-five years. Is 

 there anything discouraging about that? Now let us investigate the 

 ancestry of the seeds from which these trees sprung. In an article by 

 Henry Little of Maine, written in 1853, we find among one hundred 

 and forty varieties mentioned the apples grown there were largely 

 Sops of Wine, Maiden's Blush, Gravenstein, Hubbardstons, Nonsuch, 

 Rhode Island Greening, William's Favorite, Ribston, Pippin and 

 Baldwin. He says the Duchess was first brought there in 1847; it is 

 very unlikely that its seeds were among those secured by Mr. Shaw. 



If such results as those above mentioned can be produced by the 

 use of such ill-adapted means, what may we not expect from seedlings 

 grown from our own hardiest of all acclimatized apples, the Duchess 

 de Oldenburg? 



In the fall of 1871, as before mentioned, I visited many orchards in 

 Winona county, which were of the best grafted varieties, set from 

 1856 to 1860. In numerous instances I found trees bearing twelve to 

 fifteen bushels on a tree. Among the many I will mention those of 

 our old friend and co-worker Hon. Norman Buck, who raised that 

 year nearly 300 bushels; Hon. C. F. Buck, 200 bushels; G. W. Clark, 



