secretary's corner. 335 



Rolla Stubbs' Wealthy Seedling. — "Mr. Peter M. Gideon died October 

 27, 1S99. He left several thousand Wealthy seedling apple trees one year old; 

 the State Horticultural Society got them. I received two trees of them as 

 a premium — you sent them — one lived and this is the tree. I consider my 

 wife and I are pretty good judges of good fruit, and we think this equal to 

 any we ever ate. They have the real apple flavor that is lacking in so many 

 varieties. They taste like grafted fruit, not like a seedling — just taste 

 enough to be good; they were crisp and firm. The following points are in 

 favor of the tree and its fruit. Tree has never blighted or killed back any. 

 The fruit hangs on till late in October and has to be pinched off — a good 

 keeper. They are a pale red apple — not bright like the Wealthy. The tree 

 is a very prolific bearer." — Quotation from a letter from Rolla Stubbs, Beder- 

 wood, Lake Minnetonka. 



Improving the Plum. — In this number of our monthly is to be found 

 an article by Mr. Dewain Cook dealing with the plum situation in this state. 

 Mr. Cook is in the first rank of those who have interested themselves intel- 

 ligently in the growing and development of plums in Minnesota. You will 

 note in this article, on page 322, that he anticipates an improvement in the 

 character of plums adapted to Minnesota by crosses between our native 

 plums and those of foreign origin. Mr. Cook, in connection with his article, 

 publishes a letter from A. B. Dennis, of Cedar Rapids, la., one of the most 

 noted plum specialists in this country. Mr. Dennis takes a very different 

 view of this subject, expressing the opinion that it is not by hybrids that 

 we are to secure improved hardy varieties, but by the crossing of our 

 several native species. This is an important subject, and these two views 

 represent the two opposite standpoints as to the future of plum growing 

 in the Northwest. 



How I Made Apples Pay. — Six years ago an orchard came into my 

 hands along with a good spraying outfit. Five hundred apple trees were 

 bearing well, but middlemen got the fruit, or had been getting it, at a very 

 small price and the spraying outfit had not as yet been used. 



I was a poor man and needed a fair price for my produce. But the 

 produce must be made to equal the prices wanted. To this end the spray 

 was applied thoroughly, and the results the first year were very satisfactory. 

 My entire crop of 700 bushels was sold direct to consumer either by peddling 

 or shipment. The next year I found the apples to be almost absolutely free 

 from worms. So to get more and better customers and a little better prices 

 the buyers were offered two cents a piece for every worm found in a bushel. 

 Well, the idea worked splendidly and many people learned to know the value 

 of good, clean, worm-free fruit. Surely the way to make an orchard pay big 

 is first, of course, to make it produce good fruit and second, to place this 

 product before the people that appreciate it. — H. P. Anderson, "Wis. Horti- 

 culture." 



Strawberries Nos. 3 and 1017. — I got three plants of Nos. 1017 two 

 years ago. I got 280 plants from those three plants, which I transplanted 

 last spring. I did not keep flowers picked. The first crop was fine, nice, 

 big berries. The second crop was burned by the heat, but kept on growing. 

 The third blooming was late with fine berries, but frost killed them. There 

 was some blight. All plants set out runners, so I have thousands of plants. 



