STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 169 



REPORT ON RUSSIAN APPLES. 

 By Andrew Peterson, Waconia. 

 Secretary of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society: 



Dear Sir: — As you ask for a short report on Russian apple trees, I will do 

 so, but of course it will be short because I cannot write the English language 

 myself. As I said in the report last spring, that the Hibernal, Ostrekoft's Glass, 

 Lieby and Charlanaoff, these four varieties were not injured by the cold last winter, 

 and bore a heav3r crop this summer, rather too heavy, but the fruit was not quite as 

 large as they used to be. I suppose that was because the fruit bud was swelled 

 out too much by the fine weather late in the fall of 1884; and I had a few 

 Wealthy trees that was not entirely killed last winter, and the fruit on them was 

 smaller than they used to be, and also the Crab apples, and the orchards in my 

 neighborhood as far as I have examined them, the fruit was a good deal smaller 

 than it used to be. The Duchess of Oldenburg was a good deal damaged but not 

 killed, and bore a heavy crop. The Russian White Astrachan Is nearly a Duchess, 

 but not quite; in tree and fruit seems to be hardier than the Duchess, and is a good 

 bearer. 



The Winter Lowland are hard trees, have bore a few apples this summer, the 

 fruit middle size and middling good quality; not a winter apple, but late fall. Red 

 Cheeked apple bore a few apples this summer for the first time, size of fruit some 

 larger than the Transcendent but sour; good for a cooking apple; the trees are the 

 hardiest I have seen. When the wood of the Transcendent took some color last 

 winter, these Red Cheeked trees did not take any color at all. The small Russian 

 trees that I received from Prof. Budd most of them stood the winter good, but 

 some varieties were damaged more or less. The Red Anisette were not injured at 

 all, and neither was the Antanouka. 



The pear trees 1 received from Prof. Budd were colored some, but not much, and 

 also the Russian plums. The grapes I raise are Concord, Delaware, Isabelle, Hart- 

 ford Prolific, lona. All bore a heavy crop, and a very heavy crop. Of the raspber- 

 '•ies the same may be said of Philadelphia and Turner. 



REPORT FROM CARVER COUNTY. 

 By Chas. Luedlofp, Carver. 



No previous winter has been so severe on fruit trees as the last one and new 

 and extensive demands are made upon the pomologist to regain what has been lost. 

 Many causes, which are injurious to fruit trees, can be removed by a scientific 

 pomologist, through remedies which by experience have proven to be valuable. 

 But other causes, which in their operations are harmless to the tree, cannot be over- 

 come or guarded against; such are the extreme cold during the winter months, or 

 the heavy frosts in the spring, or fall, before the sap had matured the wood. If 

 this is the case, then we must endeavor to assist nature in accomplishing a restora- 

 tion. 



The injury done on fruit trees last winter was not alone caused by extreme cold- 

 ness, but is more largely due to the fact that the sap had not matured the wood ef 

 the tree sufficiently. The sap froze into ice, and the effect of this was to cause 



