128 ANNUAL REPORT. 



you save the sprouts and let them grow they will soon replace 

 the old tree and may prove to be a good bearing tree. I wax told 

 it would do this by Mr. Gould, of Excelsior. He said to me one 

 time, on seeing one of my trees in that condition: "There's a 

 bunch of sprouts that will j)roduce a wonderful sight of apples 

 if you will let them grow and take care of them." Of course I 

 have seen so many of such sprouts in my experience that would 

 kill down that it is usually my plan to root them out. But I will 

 say, further, that I have been caring for the Wealthy as far as I 

 can and have hopes that it may pay me for my labor some time; 

 it has not done it so far. 



Mr. Underwood. Do you cultivate your orchard ? 



Mr. Dartt. Usually I do. 



Mr. Underwood. Do you protect the body of your trees ? 



Mr. Dartt. I have not; but I tried it in Wisconsin. I have 

 got too many. 



Mr. Underwood. I consider Mr. Dartt as a sort of a rudder to 

 this fanciful society of ours. We are all the while drumming up 

 something to build up his hopes only to have them dashed to the 

 ground, and I want to ask him now in regard to that seedling I 

 have mentioned, which is growing about eighteen or twenty 

 miles back from Lake Pepin, on prairie ground, as high as there 

 is in that part of the country. It is on an exposure to the south, 

 and is standing in the sod. The German that now lives on the 

 place don't know very much about it. My attention was called 

 to it, and I have been out there several times to keep watch of 

 it. Now, I want to ask you whether you think it is a very favor- 

 able locality. I will say that the tree looks well. 



Mr. Dartt. Are there any deep valleys in the vicinity? 



Mr. Underwood. There are ravines all through. 



Mr. Dartt. How deep are the ravines "? 



Mr. Underwood. Well, I think nothing but what is tillable. 

 It is a splendid chicken country; there are ravines fifty to a hun- 

 dred feet deep. I don't remember of anything of note, although 

 we drove all through the locality, hunting chickens. 



Mr. Dartt. I should not regard that as a remarkably favora- 

 ble locality. I wish to be understood, however, as saying that 

 I believe high land in the vicinity of low land is a favorable lo- 

 cality, decidedly so. It is better than low land itself. But when 

 you get where it is all high land for miles around — in one broad 

 sweep of level country, where it is all high — I think it is a try- 

 ing situation. I think we have a trying situation in Steele 



