STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 191 



The Duchess has stood best in high, airy locations, and on nortliern slopes, whilst 

 in low, sheltered situations it has killed out badly. The Tetofsky seemed as hardy 

 as Duchess till last winter. Now three-fourths of them are dead. The most live 

 trees are found where the land has been the best cultivated, and the most manure 

 has been applied. 



Of crab apples I have tried about forty named varieties, besides a large number 

 of seedlings of my own production, and up to the present time I know of hardly a 

 tree that comes up to all the following requirements : hardiness, fruitfulness, size 

 and quality of fruit, longevity and freedom from blight. I think about one-half lack 

 in hardiness and an equal proportion in fruitfulness, and blight hits them all to a 

 greater or less extent, some much more than others. I mention a few varieties : 



Transcendent — Liable to blight ; supplies our own market nearly every season. 



flyslop — Not a good bearer, sometimes blights ; apples second quality ; keeps 

 well. 



Greenwood and Early Strawberry — Well up on most points ; apples do not keep. 



Whituriy No. 20 — Promising ; have grown it 8 to 10 years ; needs further trial. 



Dartt's Hybrid; same. 



Maidens Blush— Sprouts badly from bottom ; dies young. 



Minnesota — Not productive ; short lived on sandy land. 



Orange — has not borne well ; blossoms very frail ; killed by slight frost. 



Gen. Grant, Conical and Marengo Winter — Not hardy ; blight to death. 



Beeches Sweet and Hutchinson's Sweet are well up except on fruitfulness. 



I sincerely hope that our Society will in the near future pay more attention to 

 the crab list. For the people want trees that will stay with them and produce a 

 passible fruit in seasonable quantity. They are tired of kinds that come with de- 

 ceptive, high-sounding names, go with winter's first shock, or linger for a season 

 to prove how uncertain certain things are, and especially Minnesota apple trees. 



REPORT FROM THIRD DISTRICT. 



By Vice-President M. Cutler, Sumter. 

 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 



Owing to my not receiving last years' report of the Society until late in the season, 

 and my being busily engaged in building, 1 was not aware of the duties devolving 

 upon me as vice-president until a few weeks since, after having accepted an invita- 

 tion from our Secretary to contribute a paper for this meeting. Hence my report 

 will not be as complete as it would otherwise have been. 



The past year has been one to test the courage of the horticulturists of the North- 

 west. From every direction come reports of the sad havoc produced among fruit 

 trees and j)l&.nts. My section of the State has suffered with the rest. All report 

 their standard trees as dead or dying. 



Contrary to expectation Transcendent and Hyslop trees came out in pretty good 

 shape last spring, blossomed very full, and bore a large crop. There were so many 

 crab apples in the market that they reached the low price of twenty-five cents a 

 bushel. A few Duchess apples were in the market but no other home grown stand- 

 ard apples. Wild plums were abundant. 



