STATE HOETICULTURAL SOCIETY. 163 



Mr. Harris. We heard of a good many seedlings that were said to 

 be hardy, and Mr. Sias went with me and we visited them; when we 

 found the trees they were on their last legs. A man who isn't much 

 of a horticulturist sometimes makes grave mistakes in reporting upon 

 the condition of seedlings. 



Mr. Smith. I had a seedling that I thought a great deal of. It was 

 about ten years old when it came into bearing. After the hard winter 

 of 1872, it was then perfectly clean and hardy, hadn't a black spot on 

 it. There is a great diiference in the hardiness of seedlings that are 

 raised from the seed of fruit grown here and of those grown elsewhere. 

 I had a little experience in that direction. I traded for a dozen or 

 fifteen bushels of black walnuts, and advertised them for sale, and in 

 consequence, got orders for forty bushels. I thought the black walnut 

 from one place would prove just as hardy as from another and I had a 

 chance to buy some cheap in Illinois, so I sent for them, and they 

 came and I sold the most of them and planted the balance; and every- 

 one of those black walnuts, yearlings, killed to the ground the next 

 winter, while the Minnesota black walnut stood all right, every one 

 of them lived and they didn't kill last winter. I believe that trees 

 must be acclimated. I don't think that the Siberian crab is as hardy 

 in this climate as seedlings grown from it will be. 



The motion of Col. Stevens was adopted. 



The following report were then read : 



RUSSIAN APPLES. 



By A. W. Sias, Rochester. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 



The past severe winter was just what was needed to thoroughly test the many new 

 varieties of the Russian apple lately introduced. They were subjected to the ordeal 

 ol lifty degrees below zero and came out in good shape, with but few exceptions. 

 The latest formation of cells on the new wood, was found in the fall to be well 

 hardened up with starch, or mucilage, while many of the native sorts were spongy 

 and full of sap. The Anis family have proven themselves to be wonderfully hardy. 

 Mr. H. H. Hewlett of Baraboo, Wisconsin, wrote me under date of Nov. 28th that 

 what he received for Red Anis fruited last season for the first time, and the fruit 

 was then very hard and had all the appearance of being a good keeper, and if so he 

 would have the fruit here to show for itself. I hope this will prove just what we 

 want for a winter fruit. One of the greatest objections with me to the Russian 

 varieties, is that there is so few good keepers among them. I did have some faith 

 in the Red Black that I exhibited here a year ago, but alas, fifty degrees was too 

 much for it, and it is now in good shape for kindling wood! (This was top worked on 



