ORCHARDS. 269 
jured. Inoticed that all this time the Russians, as a general 
thing, appeared to be getting more hardy. The winter of ’84-5 
left me with nothing but the crab apple, the Duchess of Ol- 
denburg and my Russian apples. Iam south of you and per- 
haps I am ina less trying position, but from reports that I 
have seen of the varieties that you have grown in Minnesota, 
farther north than I am, I have sometimes thought that per- 
haps I was in an extraordinarily trying locality. Yes, I think 
Tam. The Early Richmond cherry was grown just over the 
line in this state, while I could do nothing with it. The Rus- 
sian apple did well when even the crab apple failed, and that 
led me to go into the subject to some extent, and from that 
on I have been an earnest advocate of the Russian apple. Now, 
I notice that you recommend the Wealthy. Well, until 1884 
the Wealthy did well with us, and I considered it as hardy as 
the Duchess, but after that winter there was not a tree remain- 
ing onmy ground, or for that matter, in the county. But 
for all that, I am again propagating them. We find 
that thereare different degrees of hardiness in the Russians as 
inthe American apples, but there are some 15 or 20 varieties, 
that I have tried, that I class as hardy as the Duchess, or more 
so, and the one that I consider the most hardy of all is No. 240. 
I have always called it the Lieby, and it was so reported in the 
government catalogue. 
Vice-President Wedge: I would like to ask you about the 
color of that apple. © 
Mr. Mitchell: Well, itis variously colored. You can get 
almost any color from red to russet. They are not highly col- 
ored, but are perhaps half striped with a dull red, and around 
the stem it is always golden, even when the apple is highly 
colored. 
Vice-President Wedge: Mr. Charles Patten tells me that he 
thinks that you have the true Hibernal instead of the Lieby. 
Mr. Mitchell: I think that I have them both. I obtained 
them both and I don’t think there is any difference between 
them—practically no difference. In the tree they are ap- 
parently one and the same thing, and in the quality and appear- 
ance of the fruit they are identical. I have always exhibited 
the fruit at the fairs in the state and, while some of the most 
knowing men will pick them out as the Hibernal and Lieby, 
they are just as apt to get them twisted around asnot. As for 
myself I think there is no difference. Mr. Patten clairas that 
