lliO ANNUAL REPORT. 



Mr. Harris. Mr. President, these reports have come from 

 members of the seedling committee as well as from our experi- 

 mental stations. We are so young in the business that I fear we 

 cannot give you anything in the line of a written report that will 

 be very valuable. As manager of a station I have done what I 

 could. I have received a very few seedlings and put them in, 

 and am making preparations so that I can make actual tests of 

 any new seedling or variety that shall be sent me. I have set 

 aside a piece of ground and intend to devote it exclusively to 

 experimental work for the benefit of the Horticultural Society. 

 We did not expect when this committee was appointed that we 

 could go out in one year and gather up those seedlings which 

 should be adapted to the wants of the whole country, but we did 

 hope to be able to originate varieties and bring the information we 

 are seeking before the people much quicker than if the matter was 

 left to itself. I believe that committee has made a report each 

 year. My report is as follows: 



KEPOET OF JOHN S. HARRIS, MEMBER OF SEEDLING 

 FRUIT COMMITTEE. 



La Crescent, Jan. 1, 1885. 

 Ti> the President and Metiibers of the Minnesota State Horticultural 

 Society: 

 I have continued my observations in the line of horticulture 

 and held myself in readiness to respond to every call to visit 

 u'.'W seedlings, wherever the attending expense was not greater 

 than the reduced condition of the society would warrant, and 

 have met with encouraging success in finding varieties that 

 promise to be worthy of looking after. At the State fair and at 

 the fair of the Southern Minnesota Fair Association the exhibit 

 of seedlings was much larger and finer than ever before made in the 

 State and fully one hundred varieties were upon the exhibition ta- 

 bles. Many of them were fair in appearance and of excellent qual- 

 ity. The most notable exhibits at the State fair were J. W. Hart's, 

 of Dover Center, three varieties of Brett's seedlings that were 

 awarded the first premium as best collection; Jacob Kline, 

 Union, Houston County, eighteen varieties, awarded second pre- 

 mium on collection and one of them the first as best autumn vari- 

 ety for all purposes; J. C. Kramer, La Crescent, five or six 

 varieties; E. B. Jorden, Rochester, ten or a dozen; J. S. Harris 

 & Son about the same, and many others with from one to ten 



