STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 99 



soil, "wished" well, and that is the end of it. All the varied cond - 

 tions of climate and the required treatment are forgottou. These 

 methods fail to give the very best results, and fruit-growing is con- 

 demned. It is veiy rarely the case that in traveling over our State 

 and examining apple orchards or small fruit, that I have found an 

 orchard or garden that is half tended, that is not overgrown to weeds 

 and grass, the common pasture field for all kinds of stock, no protec- 

 tion, either in winter or summer, and no pruning. One thing that 

 has struck me very forcibly, especially in this whole Northwest, is this 

 neglect of pruning trees. There seems to be a sentiment among our 

 farmers that you must not touch a tree after it is once put in the 

 ground. I think we should share a portion of the responsibility with 

 Dame Nature. 



Mr. Pearce. Another thing occurs to me. I think a great draw- 

 back to our fruit-growers is that they labor under a wrong idea as to 

 the best locality to plant their trees. 



Since 1854 farmers, universally, have been looking for an old piece 

 of land, well protected by timber as an orchard site, the warmest place 

 they had on their farms. To-day, if you travel over the country, you 

 will find orchards on just such localities. The reverse of that I be- 

 lieve to be the correct plan of growing orchards. If you have a piece 

 of land, high, smooth, unprotected, there is where you should put your 

 trees. Where the Wealthy, is on the highest pinacles of Minnesota, 

 it is in the best condition. 



Mr. Smith. Mr. President, I set out an orchard fifteen years ago, 

 and tried to get the trees in the most sheltered situation we could 

 find. Those trees that were in the most exposed localities w^ere the 

 ones that stood the winter's blast, and the trying ordeal of last win- 

 ter. 



I made a few notps in regard to what the Colonel said. He says 

 "Fruit growers have been making money." t want to speak of one 

 case that was reported to our local society of a man near here that set 

 out an acre of strawberries. It was the first experience that the man 

 had ever had. He planted just about an acre of strawberries, first in 

 the season of 1884. In 1885 he sold from that one acre $iOO worth of 

 berries, at a net profit of $300. Again the Colonel said he thought one 

 man could do what another had done under the like circumstances. 

 Now, there is Mr. Nobles; he has been successful in grape growing in 

 McLeod County. I was at his place just as his Concords were ripening, 

 and his vines were loaded with great, beautiful clusters of fruit. It is 



