408 Ay^KUAL REPOKT. 



greatest honors and most substantial rewards; extending its list 

 of apples from the beautiful and excellent early winter variety, the 

 Wealthy — in whose production our state has been so much hon- 

 ored and benefitted by Peter M. Gideon — to the acquisition of long 

 keeping kinds of the apple of equal beauty and quality, and other 

 species of choice fruits common to northern climates in the older 

 settled parts of the world. 



Bnt to obtain valuable seedlings, it is necessary to procure good, 

 plump, healthy seeds from good fruit of vigorous and hardy trees 

 of northern growth. These seeds must be carefully selected, from 

 both Russia and the northeastern regions of this country, as the 

 chief sources of our supply; and from our home grown trees, grafted 

 and seedling. 



The apple seeds sold by the seed merchants should be universally 

 condemned as worthless. These seeds are almost all obtained by 

 washing them out of the pomace of the cider presses of the Atlan- 

 tic States, where the diseased and unmarketable apples are refused 

 and cast aside for the manufacture of cider. Such seeds are utterly 

 worthless for seedling culture, and wholly unfit for root grafting. 

 Minnesota should not follow the example of the old commercial 

 nurseries, whese apple roots for grafting are grown from the seed 

 of the cider presses, the consequence of which is the cause of general 

 complaint of increasing failures of apple tree growing for profit, 

 in the old apple growing states. 



A few other suggestions in regard to the improvement of fruit 

 trees by progresive seedling culture, may be briefly stated to close 

 this subject for the present, although many other kindred topics 

 present themselves. 



1st. Fruit tree culture by seedling selections, in even this age 

 of horticultural acquisitions from the remote past, rarely attains, 

 in any region or climate, the highest degree of improvement from 

 the continued grafting upon roots or stocks, from the first genera- 

 tion of seedling scions. Progressive improvements may be con- 

 tinued, as I am convinced by facts fully authenticated, by successive 

 selections for at least two or three generations. 



2nd. As a general practical rule, the be^t variety of fruit of 

 every climate is produced only in the region where its parent stock 

 first originated. 



3d. Illustrative. The best apple of America and of the whole 

 world is the Newtown Pippen, but it is best only in the region of 

 country where it originated from a seedling tree. The Seckle — the 



