296 ANNUAL REPORT. 



FEOM RED RIVER VALLEY. 



MooRHEAD, Minn., April 9, 1885. 

 Your circular letter of March 26th last duly received. Did not 

 answer at once in order to see effect produced by warmer tem- 

 perature after the severe winter's freezing on stocks. Before 

 answering your inquiries would first make a general statement. 

 I have tiied a number of apple trees, planted when three to four 

 years old and procured from different nurseries in Minnesota. 

 I cannot now remember all the varieties I experimented with 

 but am positive of having tried the following : Emperor, Alex- 

 ander, Tetofsky, Duchess, Walbridge, Haas, General Grant, 

 Soulard Crab, Whitney No. 20, Beach's Sweet, Sylvan' s Sweet, 

 Wealthy, Minnesota, Hyslop and Transcendent. The following 

 all died during the first winter and summer following first win- 

 ter after planting : Alexander, Walbridge, Haas, General Grant, 

 Soulard and Minnesota. Badly injured : Tetofsky, Duchess and 

 Wealthy. Injured some : Whitney No. 20, Beach's Sweet, Syl- 

 van' s Sweet and Hyslop. Never injured by winter only for the 

 last two years by blight : Transcendent. But of the plantings 

 of years ago none ever bore fruit or revive now except Trans- 

 cendents. Finding experimenting with two to four year old 

 trees too expensive to judge by experience had, I commenced 

 with root grafts of the following : Whitney No. 20, Wealthy, 

 Beach's Sweet and Sylvan' s Sweet. The first year's growth all 

 got winter killed. In the spring I cut off dead wood and those 

 that made a new growth, nearly all winter killed the following 

 winter; that is, most of the trees and nearly all the summer's 

 growth; Wealthy the most so. Pruned down dead wood again 

 of the remaining trees, and they made a fine growth that sum- 

 mer. Dug all the remaining trees out in the fall and buried 

 them; planted again in spring of 1884. All made a fine growth 

 last summer but attaining only a height on the average of from 

 two to four feet ; left them out over winter. Examined them 

 to-day and find that last summer's growth and some of summer 

 before buried killed in Wealthy; Whitney No. 20, Beach's Sweet 

 and Syl van's Sweet, new growths of last summer about half dead. 

 About a dozen Transcendents of same age and same treatment,, 



sound to the tips. 



Will now answer circular letter by numbers. 

 1. Have none except noted before. 



