110 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
our work. Three of these meetings were held; the first devoted chiefly 
to the apple; the second to small fruits; the third, fruit raising in gen- 
eral. Of those who participated in these meetings, Col. Stevens, L. M. 
Ford and O. P. Whitcumb afterward became members of this society. 
Col. D. A. Robertson, Levi Nutting, and one or two other of our early 
members belonged to that club and doubtless were present at the meet- 
ings. At the first meeting the following resolution was passed: 
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this meeting, that with proper care 
the cultivation of apples and pears may be successfully carried on in this 
State. 
The first horticultural literature published in the state was, necessarily, 
chiefly selections from eastern writers,or the writings of men but recently 
on from the east, and hence was a very unreliable guide in our peculiar 
circumstances. That I very frankly acknowledge to be the case with the 
series of articles that I furnished for publication in those early days. L. 
M. Ford published the ““Farmer and Gardener’’ as early as ...... , and the 
“St. Paul Pioneer” frequently contained some item on fruit culture. Dur- 
ing all these years pomology was slowly and surely, but almost impercep- 
tably, gaining ground in spite of all losses, mistakes and disappointments, 
but at a fearful cost of time and money in experiments conducted by men 
whose financial circumstances hardly warranted the sacrifice. It is not 
likely that the bulk of fruit produced previous to 1860 amounted to any 
considerable quantity. From the record of the meetings held in the capitol 
that winter we learn that Mr. Thurber, of Cottage Grove, had planted 
seed and in six years had pies made from the apples grown on them; and 
Mr. Pond, of Oak Grove, had successfully raised apple trees that bore fruit 
year after year. About the same time some Flemish Beauty pears 
were produced by Mr. Ford and Mr. Huff, of Winona, and we also 
heard that some of the common and larger Siberian crabs had fruited. 
The first display of fruits made at state fairs, that we have any account 
of, was made at Fort Snelling in 1860, when premiums were awarded for a 
few crab apples, and for grapes and strawberries. 
The first, display of grafted ‘ruit grown in Minnesota, that we have 
any account of, was made at Rochester, in 1866, by I. W. Rollins and my- 
self, Mr. Rollins showing about seven or eight varieties and myself about 
eighteen, and also a collection of grapes comprising six varieties. I was 
somewhat green, but managed to carry off the magnanimous prize of five 
dollars for the greatest number of choice varieties named and labeled 
grown by the exhibitor, and Mr. Rollins was awarded the second prize, 
which amounted to three dollars. Both of us were eligible to have com- 
peted in class two, but did not know it until it was too late to make en- 
tries, so that prize was given to Mr, Hurd, of Rochester, on a barrel of 
fruit containing two or three varieties of apples sent up from Whitewater, 
Wisconsin. You can rest assured that that was the last time your humble 
servant got caught in that manner, and for a few following years we filled 
all entries in both classes without ever getting left on first prizes. 
Some time towards spring of the year 1866, there appeared in the Pioneer 
a request from Col. D. A. Robertson of St. Paul for information from 
those who had attempted to raise apples in the state, and the reports 
made were soon after published in that paper, and Mr. Robertson was 
at once recognized as our pomological leader. These papers and the un- 
expected exhibit of apples made at that fair without doubt brought about 
