STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 35 
ground. The balance of my trees were set out 20 by 30 feet apart. 
In the former the fruit on the inside does not ripen, but on the 
east side is my garden, and there the fruit is large and turns a fine 
red. The fruit on the inside remains green and falls more than 
that on outside. Where I planted my trees 20 by 30 all the fruit 
ripens. These seven Duchess have been in grass the last four 
years because they were too close to be cultivated. Think the 
Wealthy will be the apple for Minnesota; it is better for keeping. 
The Duchess soon becomes mealy, and is too tender. I have a 
winter apple that keeps well in barrels till April. Do not know 
the name of it. The tree is not extra hardy, and is grafted on a 
Hyslop stock. Like it well. 
Soil for Apple Trees. 
Dr. Twitchell. What is the right kind of soil? On what kind 
of soil do trees die soonest ? 
Mr. Harris. An unfavorable soil is a wet, mucky soil, and its 
effects will be seen the first year. If the soil is all right, the 
fruit will prosper. Would call a sandy loam, containing lime—a 
loam not so tenacious as to hold water for several weeks in a post- 
hole, but that would let the water soak through in about forty- 
eight hours—a good soil. River deposits are not very good for a 
tree. Genuine loamy clay soil, not too stiff, is the best. For 
general fruit raising, good wheat and corn land is good. Clay 
with a northeast slope will also do. 
Mr. Fuller. Any new land is good wheat or corn land in one 
year, but it is not so with fruit trees. New land does not seem 
to be favorable to them until cultivated for several years. Clay 
sub-soil is the best, but I think there is not much difference in 
the soil. A friend of mine has in good condition the Duchess 
and Hyslop in sandy soil, planted ten years ago. Some of my 
best trees are planted in a sandy loam, and I have some on other 
ground. Find that those planted in a sandy soil stand as much 
freezing as those planted in other soils. We must mulch our 
trees. 
Lime. 
Mr. Storrs. Fruit trees must have lime to make them strong. 
In a heavy clay soil fruit prospers well because there is enough 
lime there. 
The Secretary. Lime is not a food question to the tree; but it 
seems to me it produces its effect by acting upon other substances 
in the soil. There is lime enough in any soil for food to the tree. 
