APPLES. 265 



Mr. Brand. Can you name any one variety that passed 

 through in better condition than the others? 



Mr. Wedge, Well, almost anything Russian was all right so 

 far as the scab was concerned. The Peerless was the only one 

 in my whole orchard that was absolutely perfect as regards 

 blight. In other respects I don't know that it fared any better 

 than the Russians did. 



REPORT ON APPLES. 



R. C. KEEL, ROCHESTEK. 



Mr. President and members of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society: 



Ladies and gentlemen:— The year of 1892 has been one of great 

 encouragement and also of some disappointment to the fruit growers of 

 Minnesota. The trees came through the previous winter in good condi- 

 tion, and in the spring it loolced as though we would have an abundant 

 crop of all kinds of apples and crab apples, but the wet and cold spring 

 and then a couple of very hot days, June 10 and 11, I thinli it was, did 

 some damage to the blossoms and caused the crab apple trees to blight; 

 also some of the Russian trees were hurt, more so in the middle and 

 western part of the state than in the southeastern part. 



But after all, we had a large crop, the largest that was ever grown in 

 Minnesota, and the farmers in our part of the state who have orchards 

 are bound to have some more trees in the spring; they have found out 

 that one acre of orchard paj's better than 20 acres of wheat. The cry we 

 used to hear, "Will Minnesota-ever raise her own apples?" was solved in 

 1892, and is now a question of the past. 



The commission merchants in this city and in St. Paul have also com- 

 menced to notice the importance of the fruit industry in Minnesota. The 

 bulk of apples raised in our state is, of course. Duchess, but the day is not 

 far distant when we shall raise as many winter apples as we do of Duchess 

 now. It will, probably, astonish the members of this society when I say 

 that in two townships, namely, Haverhill and Viola, were raised 15,000 

 bushels of apples in 1892. They were shipped to Chicago, St. Louis and a 

 great many to Dakota, and, when handled as they ought to be, brought a 

 good price. 



It is my honest belief that there is not a farm In Minnesota but what 

 a small place could be found on it that would grow apple trees of some 

 kind, but for commercial purposes the best locality should be looked up. 

 Last year I raised 3,500 bushels of apples. I do not deny that I have a 

 good location, but in our county we have thousands of acres that are as 

 well adapted to fruit trees as my place is, and a great deal of it is even 

 better; some of my land is of so poor quality that it will not even raise 

 weeds, and yet it raises good crops of apples. 



Now, I do not wish it understood that I advise people to plant their 

 apple trees on the poorest soil, for it is a well known fact that the better 

 the land is the better the crops will be. I had one-quarter of an acre 

 planted with Wealthy trees that I mulched very heavily a year ago this 

 fall;the result was that I picked from that orchard65 barrels of apples. If 



