182 ANNUAL REPORT 



last Monday morniug. I was asking him if the Mennonites in 

 Southern Manitoba had imported any fruits from Eussia. He 

 said he was not aware of anything they had brought with them 

 except the mulberry which he had known to succeed well there 

 for the past five or six years. The honorable gentleman prom- 

 ised me that on the first opportunity he would make arrange- 

 ments whereby I should receive some of those particular mul- 

 berries. If it succeeds in Manitoba, as I find by the reports of 

 your Society it kills down (I have been a member for the past 

 three years), if these Eussians of Manitoba shall succeed with it, 

 I shall be most happy to repay some of the courtesies that have 

 been extended to me by members of your Society. 



In regard to apples, that is a vexed question. I am not a seed- 

 ling man or a Eussian. I believe Eussian fruits will grow in 

 Manitoba, although you may regard me as a little "cranky" in 

 this particular. After being in correspondence with some of the 

 growers of Eussian fruits for the past three years, I claim we 

 have a more equable atmosphere than you have here. (Laughter. ) 

 Perhaps that may not go down very well; but I suppose the 

 mercury will freeze if it goes to 40° below zero. We cannot tell 

 how much further it goes down. While at times the tempera- 

 ture goes down to that point, I am reminded of a little slap as 

 to that fact. I am not going to expose any gentleman here, but 

 he will forgive me ; he knows he is guilty in the matter. But, 

 sir, I saw a report of the temperature in Southern Minnesota, 

 where it was 42° below, while at Winnipeg, at the same hour, the 

 glass showed only 38°. That may be accounted for by certain 

 modifying influences, and it is altogether likely the next time 

 we examined the mercury was frozen at Winnipeg and it was 

 only 40° below in Southern Minnesota. 



I have some forty or fifty varieties of the Eussians, some of 

 which come from Prof. Budd. You may think I am a crank in 

 supposing I can grow apples there, but I am going to make the 

 venture. 



By the kindness of some of your members I have thirty or forty 

 kinds of plums. I have also tried several varieties of cherries. 

 (Laughter.) Don't laugh; I have got two pears! They came out 

 the cleanest of anything and after our last winter's severe freez- 

 ing they started from the terminal bud. They stood some ten 

 feet to the north of my dwelling which may have had a good 

 effect in protecting them from the south sun, and I am hopeful 

 they may soon come into bearing. 



