HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 315 



a bountiful supply of choice fruit! I feel confident that my 

 worthy colleagues will bear me out in this new departure that has 

 been forced upon us, since we began to take* observations over the 

 windy prairies of Minnesota, in search of an honest winter apple. 

 It looks as clear to us now that the native wild crab apple of Min- 

 nesota, crossed with the best of the Russians, or developed by gar- 

 den culture, will in the not very distant future become our best 

 winter fruit, as clear I say as it does that our native plum will 

 surpass the eastern type. When we consider what a deep interest 

 Col. John H. Stevens, the founder of this system of committee 

 work, has taken in the "wild fruits of Minnesota," and how confi- 

 dently he alluded to their hybridization in his report a year ago, 

 we have no fears but that he will rejoice to see this line of work 

 enlarged, and pushed with both brains aud cash! The P. corona- 

 ria is in my humble opinion one of the most difficult wild fruits 

 we have to hybridize. I am not aware that Dame Nature ever 

 classed it with anything. It was on or about the first day of De- 

 cember last that I became fully persuaded that we could never de- 

 velop the Pyrus Malus or P. Baccata into a satisfactory winter 

 apple for this climate, and while the chances for a winter apple 

 from the Russians were more promising than the other species 

 just named, I am confident in my own mind that an infusion of 

 our native wild crab blood, will greatly enhance its value for Min- 

 nesota. After arriving at this conclusion I looked about to see if 

 I could find any instance where a cross had been made. I found 

 none in this state, but happened to think of my friend Mr. C. G. 

 Patten, of Charles City, la., who had called my attention to a hy- 

 brid of his over a year ago, but it did not impress me favorably at 

 the time and I soon forgot it. I w rote him in regard to it and he 

 sent me a specimen of the fruit just in time to exhibit it at our 

 last meeting at Rochester, Jan 7th. I mention this to show that it 

 has been done. In one cross Mr. Patten got rid of the greater 

 part of the acidity and much of the bitterness. Reasonable in- 

 ducements should be given in my opinion, for each superintendent 

 of our experimental stations to begin this work the coming spring, 

 Commence on this solid basis at the foot of the ladder and "breed 

 up". It will take time, and as "a half loaf is better than no bread" 

 we must plant the best sorts now available, for immediate wants. 



On or about June 10th last, I received a letter from our chair- 

 man, asking me to go to Mr. J. C. Kramer's farm, near La Crescent, 

 and look into the merits of his seedling strawberry, known as the 

 Princess, (and so named by this society). Your committee labor 

 under a disadvantage here, as they can only tell you how it behaves 

 at home. Mr. Kramer informed us that it was started from seed 

 seven years ago, and that he had never parted with a plant, except 

 to his brother at Dubuque, la., and less than a dozen plants to him. 

 I immediately wrote his brother, (enclosing a stamped envelope 

 addressed to myself,) asking him how it succeeded there, but I 

 never heard from him. Now, Mr. President and fellow members, 

 if your committee has gleaned anything really valuable, in his long 

 search for new fruits in Minnesota, it is this: if we would guard 



