STATE HORTICULTUBAL SOOIBTT. 447 



perienced injury from frost as late as June 20th, and as early as 

 August 13th, and much care is necessary in the management of the 

 marsh, to secure desired results. One must understand the whole 

 situation. The water in the spring must be retained long enough, but 

 not to prevent growth of vines and maturing of crop, at the close of 

 the season. Depth of water is another item, its use depending upon 

 the objects to be secured. In my experience it is not proper to give 

 the bed water before October 15th, and not according to nature. Last 

 season I let on the water November 1st, and drew it off May 1st, My 

 b3rries matured thirty days earlier than ever before known, and I com- 

 menced picking August 15th, and finished on the 24th. The next 

 morning, the 25th, there was a heavy frost. A neighbor who had a 

 few berries, picked but few of them, as they were too green, 



I have spent some fifteen years experimenting. When I began I 

 supposed I was a master of the business, and that all there was to do 

 was to gather thft fruit. I have found this to be a serious error, and 

 feel that I know very little about it as yet. 



My entire crop was estimated at 3,000 bushels, but on account of 

 fire July 2d to 7th and cut worms I only harvested 250 bushels. Was 

 awarded first premium at the State fair last fall and also at the win- 

 ter meeting of your Society. I would like to see more samples of fruit 

 exhibited at our fairs. 



THE PEERLESS APPLE. 

 By 0. F. Brand, Faribault. 



At the request of the President of our State Horticultural Society, 

 made at our State Fair in 1886, for the history of this celebrated 

 apple, I will now give it. 



In 1857 or 8 Geo. Dorrance, now deceased, of Walcott, Rice county, 

 planted an orchard of several hundred apple trees. It was on the ex- 

 treme eastern edge of the Big Woods, facing and open to the prairie 

 on the north and northeast. The varieties were Wine Sap, Fall 

 Orange, Fameuse, Red and Green Sweeting, Golden Russet, Taluian 

 Sweet, and other popular Eastern varieties, together with six trees of 

 the Duchess. The latter were among the first to bear, and those six 

 trees became celebrated in this part of the State nearly a quarter of a 

 century ago. I first saw the orchard in 1864, and frequently in 1866. 

 In 1867 the orchard bore a large crop, Duchess being heavily loaded. 

 Talman Sweet and Golden Russet stood not far from Duchess, blos- 

 somed and bore a little fruit that year. I think it was from the crop 

 of 1867 that G. J, Miller, who then and still resides two and one-half 



