STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 173 



eign agents and who said that they represented themselves as selling 

 for the Excelsior nurseries. I am aware that in this discussion of 

 Russian apples, much has well been said about the varieties that have 

 not succeeded, but I want to know what varieties have succeeded. 1 

 would like to plant a few more of them; I would like to try those that 

 have done the best. Of about forty varieties of Russians on my place 

 the most of them were root grafts; they came from the scientific 

 department at Washington some twelve years ago. Those I grew in 

 the nursery and transplanted into the orchard; they were well culti- 

 vated and cared for, the same as the Wealthy. The Wealthy came 

 into bearing, and they did not. For the past three years I have 

 noticed that two of these trees have made a very vigorous growth. 

 They attained about the size of the largest Wealthy; they appear 

 much akin to it; I can hardly tell them apart. The trees were not 

 seriously injured by the severe winter. The other 25 or 30 varieties 

 have borne scarcely anything; some of them are blighted badly. The 

 leaves are smooth, and have an unhealthy color, but I hope something 

 may come of them yet. I have perhaps twenty others that were top 

 grafts on the Duchess. They are all alive, and most of them have 

 borne fruit. There is nothing very nice among the fruit however* 

 When perfectly ripe they are as good as the Duchess; perhaps not 

 quite as sour. When not quite ripe, there" is a little bitterness about 

 them, that condemns them for eating. It bruises very easily. I don't 

 think it is an apple that could be handled. It is a valuable apple for 

 home use, but I don't think it will be valuable for the market. 



Mr. Tuttle. I mentioned these trees particularly for the reason that 

 they show that the root grafts are better than the top. grafts. When 

 a man sells a thing that I know is worthless by means of persistent 

 misrepresentation, and at an extravagant. price; for instance, the Rus- 

 sian Mulberry at $1.50 that costs him five cents, I do not wonder 

 that people lose faith in fruit growing. Every seedling that is grown 

 has to go through years of testing and trial. 



Mr. Sias. Mr. President^ there has been considerable said about the 

 quality of the fruit of these new Russians, and I would like to see this 

 matter put to a severe test. I don't want to propagate an inferior 

 variety when I know it, and I would move you that the Chair appoint 

 a committee of three to meet during the time of the State Fair and 

 select half a dozen of the best Russian apples, and a like number of the 

 very best natives, to compare them carefully, and report at our next 

 annual meeting upon their comparitive merits. It is an important 



