HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 319 



some Wealthies looking nearly as well. Regarding the Mills and 

 Baldwin seedlings on my grounds in Litchfield, I have nothing en- 

 couraging to report. The orginal Baldwin, eighteen years old. 

 is still sound and bearing full crops. And some trees budded on 

 Transcendents five years old, are sound; but most of those root 

 grafted have failed. The Mills, evidently belongs to the Weathly 

 class in hardiness. I can only report my conclusion of last year, 

 that we have no seedling apple in the state yet proven sufficiently 

 hardy to be trusted, only to be further tried. 



In regard to my second object of enquiry, not perhaps legiti- 

 mately included in the work of our committee, the present condi- 

 tion of apple growing in the state, 1 was sorry to find it so discour- 

 aging. I was told by a gentleman in Mankato, a gardiner and 

 fruit grower, that he had tried a great many years to raise apples, 

 but had not succeeded and had given it up. It was no use, and he 

 said this was the general state of things in that section. This was 

 confirmed by others. Some Duchess are grown about Minneapo- 

 lis and along the river, though the two thousand Duchess orchard 

 at Lake City has failed, and in the southeast corner of the state 

 some Russians, just about enough to take premiums at fairs ; and 

 in all parts of the state, there are points where the Transcendent 

 and perhaps two or three other crabs, still do well. But one need 

 only recall the exhibit tables at our winter meetings or read our 

 annual reports of premiums and lists of apples recommended for 

 cultivation to be convinced that apple growing has made no ad- 

 vancement, to say the least, in our state for a good many years. 



Is it not well to admit the true state of the case and strive for a 

 remedy? It is evident some seedlings are hardy, when standing 

 in their original place, but will not bear grafting. And none 

 should be declared hardy until tried in this way. And then is not 

 grafting as usually practiced, an unsafe way to propagate trees ? 

 Can any better way be discovered? Does budding produce any 

 different result? 



REPORT FROM WABASHA COUNTY. 



By Sidney Corp, Hammond. 



The last year was a fairly good year for fruit with us, but few 

 trees died and there was not much blight. I am still very much 

 pleased with the McMahon White Apple; the tree seems perfectly 

 hardy with me, and the fruit, Oh! what apples. Think of apples 

 loading a tree down, lots of them measuring over a foot and some 

 of them thirteen and a quarter inches in circumference. I will 

 send a few specimens for your examination at winter meeting. I 

 also think well of Beach's Sweet Hybrid; I gathered from one 

 tree this season fifteen bushels of good marketable fruit; the tree 



