HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 347 



earth. This last fall,some time the latter end of October, we had a 

 pretty sharp frost. I suppose it came pretty near to zero. 

 About the fifth of l^ovember I begin to mound up those trees to 

 protect them for winter; that is all the protection I give them. 



Mr. Underwood read the following paper: 

 SEEDLING APPLES. 



By J. M. Underwood, Lake City. 



In opening the discussion of the topic, Seedling Ai)ples, I 

 would urge, first, the importance of enlisting the interest of our 

 farmers, their wives and children in the search for those kinds 

 of fruits, and particularly of apples best adapted to the North- 

 west. When we reflect that every apple we have ever known or 

 seen, had its origin as a seedling, it will not seem a new or unin- 

 teresting field for us all to experiment in. 



It is not common to think or speak of the Baldwin, the Spy, 

 the Bellflower or theTalman Sweet as seedlings, as their names, 

 with many others, have become so familiar that it would seem 

 that they must have always existed, and yet it is not many years 

 l)ack.to the time when many of our choicest apples were originat- 

 ed among a pack of seedlings, growing in nursery rows, or, it 

 may be, sprung from the seed of some choice apple eaten at the 

 fireside under the parental roof, where they were saved and 

 taken to a distant home and tenderly planted and cared for, 

 mainly for the loving associations connected with their ori- 

 gin. Perhaps long years elapse before the public generally are 

 aware of the results, but at last they are incorporated in the 

 pomological records of our country. 



Of course, to us who are familiar with the subject, it is per- 

 fectly clear, but I believe a majority of our people do not under- 

 stand the exact origin of the apple. It is possible that the energetic 

 missionary, sometimes called the tree agent, has fully explained 

 all the mysteries connected therwith, but I will at least venture 

 to say that the variations in the growing of apples from the seed, 

 is so great that no two seeds ever produce exactly the same 

 variety of tree and fruit, hence to those who like variety, it is an 

 interesting field. 



It is also a well established fact that the pollen of one tree in 

 blossom will fertilize the blossoms of an adjoining tree, thereby 



