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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Minnesota 



Minnesota is one of the North-Central 

 states. Tlie Encyclopedia Britannica de- 

 scribes Minnesota in part as follows: "Tlie 

 northeast part of the state is included in 

 the Great Lalvos province. The whole 

 area of the state was formerly a com- 

 plexly folded mountain region of strong 

 relief, which was afterwards worn down 

 to a more nearly level surface except in 

 the extreme northeast corner, where the 

 ridges of harder rocli resisted erosion. 

 Marine deposits were laid down over the 

 south of the state after a submergence 

 of the region ; an uplift afterward made 

 of these deposits a coastal plain. The 

 rather level surfaces of the worn-down 

 mountains in the north of the state and 

 the coastal plains bed of the southern 

 and western parts are now dissected by 

 rivers, which makes most of the state a 

 rolling or hilly country without strong 

 relief." 



About two-thirds of the state drains 

 into the Mississippi river, thence into the 

 Gulf of Mexico, while the northwest part 

 drains into the Red river. Lake Winnipeg 

 and Hudson bay. A portion of the north- 

 east drains into streams emptying into 

 Lake Superior. 



Minnesota has numerous swamps and 

 more than 10,000 lakes, the beds of wliicli 

 were formed by glacial action. The larg- 



est of these is Red lake, with an area of 

 342 sciuaro miles. 



The climate of Minnesota is severe but 

 the atmosphere is dry, which fact some- 

 what neutralizes the severe effects. The 

 average annual rainfall throughout the 

 state is 26.6 inches. The soil is gener- 

 ally a dark sandy loam and very fertile. 

 Many of the swamps are being drained 

 and are very productive. 



With the exception of apples there is 

 very little fruit grown in the state. There 

 is reported 1,380,396 bearing apple trees. 

 The only commercial apple-growing of 

 consequence is in the southeastern part 

 of the state, near the Mississippi river. 



The counties producing the largest 

 amounts of apples are as follows: Blue 

 Earth, 56,740 trees; Fillmore, 80,743; 

 Freeborn, 51,842; Hennepin, 96,713. 



No peaches of consequence are grown 

 and the plums and prunes are estimated 

 at 233,736 trees. Strawberries are esti- 

 mated at 1,873 acres, and raspberries and 

 loganberries at 1,388 acres. 



At the present time Minnesota does not 

 supply its own population with fruits, but 

 considerable quantities are sliipped to St. 

 Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and other 

 cities, annually, while the state ships 

 out wheat, potatoes and other products, 

 to which the soil is particularly adapted. 

 It is claimed that the apple best suited 

 to Minnesota conditions is the Duchess 

 of Oldenburg. Granville Lowther 



Frost and Precipitation in Minnesota 



