HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 255 



is grafted, grown in nursery, and transplanted to orchard, it is 

 quite likely to be found deficient in some one or more of these 

 essential requirements. If this is true and we let a seedling tree 

 take its natural course, it must stand at least ten years in its 

 original position to prove its value as an original tree; then we 

 must graft it and wait another like? period to test it in orchard 

 as a root grafted tree. A very long time to wait for those of us 

 who are old. But to cut this time down to its shortest limit we 

 will cut scions from our most promising three year old seedling 

 trees and graft them. Then by the time the original tree begins 

 to bear the grafted tree will be of bearing size. We will also 

 make root cuttings from some of the original trees and grow 

 trees in this way, believing that if our method of propagation 

 by root grafting is defective, this method of growing trees from 

 root cuttings will cure that defect. We will top graft the sooner 

 to get fruit and to compare this with other methods of propaga- 

 tion. In this way we can test a seedling variety fairly well in 

 ten to fifteen years and get strong ihdications in much less time. 

 And if a variety proves really valuable there will be sufficient 

 stock to make it available for public use in a short time. 



In this connection it may be stated that twenty -seven varieties 

 of seedlings from a seedling of the Tetofsky have been grafted. 

 What the fruit of this third generation will be no one can tell. 

 But the Tetofsky is almost hardy enough for Minnesota, and if 

 each generation adds a little in this direction, to use a now com- 

 mon expression, we will soon get there. 



At our last state fair Mr. A. G. Tuttle, of Baraboo, Wisconsin, 

 made one of the finest displays of Eussian apples ever seen in 

 the l^orthwest and generously donated the most of his collection 

 to the Owatonna station. These apples were grown in an orchard 

 exclusively Eussian and the seeds of the most of about sixty 

 varieties have been planted by themselves and so marked that 

 the parentage of seedling grown trees will be known on one side 

 at least. It is expected to find out which varieties reproduce 

 themselves from seed with the greatest precision, if there is a 

 difference, and also the relative hardiness of Eussian seedlings 

 as compared with American seedlings. Seeds have been planted 

 of several noted varieties such as Peerless, Okabena, Wealthy, 

 Duchess, and others. Also a lot from Thompson's seedling 

 orchard in Iowa. But perhaps the fewest seeds with the biggest 

 pedigree are from J. S. Harris, who sent seeds last week of 

 Klein's seedling, and says the grandmother tree is living in 

 Canada and has born apples for more than one hundred years. 



