STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 269 



OBCHARDING IN NORTHEASTERN VER3I0NT, 



Br Drt, T. H. Hoskins, of Newport, Vermont. 



Vermont is often spoken of as a cold state, but the Champlain 

 Valley and the lower half of the Connecticut Valley are not toa 

 cold to produce the great commercial apples of New England, the 

 Baldwin, the R. I. Grreeniug and the Roxbury Russet. Peaches^ 

 are grown on the commercial scale near Brattleboro, and for 

 home use on Lake Charaplain as far north at least as Shelburn, while 

 plums and pears of many varieties are grown for market about 

 Burlington, and upon the islands of the lake up to the Canadian 

 line, 45° north latitude. But in the mountains of northeastern 

 Vermont the case is very different. In all of Essex, Orleans and 

 Caledonia counties it is impossible to bring trees of any of the 

 three above named varieties to bearing age, while no great success 

 has 5'et been met with in growing plums or pears. Not onl}' are 

 the Baldwins, Russets and Greenings excluded by the climate, but 

 nearly every variety of apple known and valued in southern New 

 England, and classed as hardy there, fails if not to yield fruit, at 

 least to do so profitably, in this elevated and wind-swept region. 



From studying the reports of your society I am inclined to be- 

 lieve that in Miunesota exceptionally cold and destructive winters 

 occur somewhat oftener than in northeastern Vermont, and that 

 perhaps spring frosts do more harm to blossoming trees in some 

 portions of Minnesota than with us. Minnesota is a large state,, 

 and the distance between its northern and southern boundary cor- 

 responds to a considerable difference in climate, so that I find some 

 apples reported as doing well in Olmstead county, such as Minne- 

 sota Greening and Rollins' Pippin, not quite iron-clad with me on 

 lake Mem phrem agog. On the other hand I see that there are 

 portions of Minnesota where the Wealthy, and even the Duchess 

 of Oldenburg, both thoroughly hardy here, are complained of. 

 Therefore my experience, while it may be of use to some, can by 

 no means be taken as a guide in Minnesota without considerable 

 allowance not on!y for latitude but for longitude. 



It is now seventeen years since, in 1866, 1 determined thoroughly 

 to test the truth of the popular belief in this section of the state 

 that apples, aside from Siberian crabs, could not be grown here. 



