GENERAL FRUITS. 137 
GENERAL FRUITS, SEVENTH CONG. DISTRICT. 
S. JACOBSON, TORDENKSJOLD. 
You made a great mistake in appointing me to give a report on 
general fruit raising from this district. I was grown up within the 
boundaries of the polar.circle, and was about twenty-five or twenty- 
six years of age when I saw the first apple, and thirty-four when I 
saw the first apple tree. Besides that, I am not acquainted in more 
than six or seven towns in the whole district. ; 
The first fruit trees planted here were planted twenty-two years 
ago. Some of them (Transcendent) are living yet and have borne 
more or less fruit every year, but they are now looking very badly. 
Everybody claims that the first trees planted were the best and have 
given the best satisfaction. Mr. P. Jensen, of this town, grown up 
among fruit trees in Denmark, has done his best to raise apples of 
different varieties, and he claims that the Transcendent is the only 
kind worth planting. The trees that are best shaded live the longest. 
He has also tried grapes but without any success. With currants 
he has had some success. Mr. Dahlen, of St. Olaff, has a few Tran- 
scendents, twenty-two years old, that are bearing every year. They 
are surrounded on three sides by an oak grove not more than three 
rods from the orchard. Mr. A. Vollen, of this town, has his trees 
planted twelve feet apart and also gets some fruit every year, more 
or less; the Transcendents are the only kind that will succeed with 
him, too. I started my orchard in 1887, in 1892 some of them borea 
great deal. One Wealthy had ninety-eight nice apples, another for- 
ty-six. Both died last winter. One Duchess of Oldenburg had three 
apples in 1893, and another year four. They are living yet, but are 
poor looking. Two other trees, of which I have lost the name, died 
the second year after planting. I also have some Transcendents 
that bore considerably in 1892; some of them have blighted and two 
of them have died of blight. The blossoms froze on the trees last 
spring. 
I have one Concord grape vine that has borne for two years, and 
some currants which are doing well. I also have a few blackberries, 
planted in 1893, that are doing well so far. In 1893I planted some 
trees again, of which all the Trancsendents are living yet, three 
Duchess and three Hibernals are living and two Hibernals, three 
Tetofsky and three Early Strawberries are dead. Planted also 
six Thompson seedlings, of which three are alive; six Okabenas,two 
living; nine Virginia crabs, of which one is living; six, of which I 
have lost the names, doing nicely. There appeared black spots 
on the trunks of these young trees which grew larger and larger 
until the trees were killed. Mr. J. Olson, of Dahlton, and Mr. Chris 
Robertson, of Underwood, planted, in 1893, half a dozen each of the 
Peerless, they are doing well at both places. 
Most every farmer in this vicinity has planted some trees, but 
hardly one of every hundred trees have repaid the trouble and ex- 
pense, and most of the farmers get angry if one suggests to try 
again. 
Trees received from the nurseries are often in a poor condition; 
