72 ANNUAL REPORT. 
Downing strawberry, nor the Cincinus or Le Conte pear, that will inherit 
the inherent hardiness of its maternal parents. The seedlings of the 
Duchess perfectly illustrate the idea. It has precisely the history of the 
Wealthy. Its mother was the Astrachanica crab, and its character of fruit 
was derived from the more southern forms of the apple found on the north 
shores of the Caspian, near the mouth of the Volga. So far as I know, not 
a single variety desirable on account of size and flavor of fruit has yet been 
grown from the seeds of the Duchess that is strictly iron-clad. Clark’s 
Orange, and Pewaukee, are fair samples of its best products, and they grade 
as to hardiness about with Ben Davis. Possibly Clark’s Orange may grade 
as high as Fameuse. 
In my humble opinion the people of Minnesota may expect greater results 
from one hundred seeds of Virginia crab, fertilized with varieties like Win- 
ter Fameuse, Canada Baldwin, Magog Redstreak, or other winter varieties 
which may be grown top-worked on the same stock, than from ten thousand 
seeds of Wealthy, Duchess, or any other decent Russian apple as to quality. 
I suggest the use of Virginia crab as a mother stock, as I do not see in your 
list any variety which is so perfect a representative of the thick and villose- 
leafed Astrachanica crab. We as yet have not got a single variety giving 
perfect satisfaction, in Northern Iowa or Minnesota, that does not show, 
in leaf, bud, and habits of growth, its origin from this stock. Some of the 
varieties which I have imported from Moscow show that they sprang from 
the Prunifolia, or glabrous-leafed crah. I do not expect any of these to 
prove valuable. I tiuly believe that it has been unfortunate for the north- 
ern fruit interests that the plum-leafed Siberian crabs were introduced at 
the West. At the East they took their proper place as ornamental trees, 
with occasional culinary use of fruit. Here they have worked mischief in 
two ways. (1) Their seeds, crossed by the common apple, have given vari- 
eties defective in leaf and notorious for blighting. In Iowa the latter diffi- 
culty is yet more severe than in Minnesota. (2) Their abundant pollen fer- 
tilizes every variety in their vicinity to greater or less extent, and the seeds 
of varieties thus fertilized give mongrel crab fruits, neither desirable as to 
quality of fruit or character of tree. . 
Russian Varieties. 
Another thought worthy of the careful consideration of your society is in 
connection with the variation in climate and soil of the great Empire of 
Russia. I notice that in your discussions you assume that the varieties of 
the apple imported from the nurseries of Dr. Regel, of St. Petersburg, by 
the Department of Agriculture, in 1870, are the standard from which you 
judge of the fruits of all parts of that immense country. 
The plain truth is that a vast number of the fruits then imported will 
prove valueless with you as well as with us. It included very many varie- 
ties from North Germany, and Southern Sweden, a few from the interior of 
Russia, and the balance were such as would mature their fruit in that section 
noted for cool, short summers. The varieties grown in the vicinity of 
Moscow, where the summers are as long and as hot as in Minnesota, may 
be expected to make a better record in character and season of fruit, and 
ab‘lity to endure our summer temperature. In the central district of Iowa 
we expect to find that the fruits grown in sections still farther south 
