102 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the Green Ash, Fraxinus im'idis. These seeds have beeii 

 hitherto collected in the river valleys and ravines in the bluffs in 

 Manitoba and the Territories, and during the past seven years 

 more than five tons of such seeds have been distributed free by 

 mail, and during the same period about six thousand packages 

 of young forest trees and cuttings have been sent out in the 

 same way to settlers in that country. Last year the native trees 

 planted on the two western experimental farms produced seed 

 freely, and more than a ton of this has been collected for distri- 

 bution during the coming season. An arboretum has been 

 started at Brandon, and there are more than one hundred species 

 and varieties of trees and shrubs in it which have proved hardy, 

 and many more are under test. A large number of varieties of 

 flowers have also been tried. Nearly all the annuals do well, and 

 the large amount of sunshine they enjoy there brings many of the 

 species to a higher degree of perfection and results in a greater 

 abundance of bloom than is usually found in the east. In peren- 

 nials, the hardy list includes Tulips, Herbaceous Peonies, several 

 species of Iris, Hemerocallis, Aquilegia, Aconite, Delphinium, 

 and many others. The love of flowers among the people is very 

 general, and many take great pride in their gardens. 



While most of the hardier varieties of small fruits, such as 

 raspberries, currants, and gooseberries, are grown with success, 

 all attempts to grow the larger fruits produced in the east, such 

 as apples, crab apples, pears, plums, and cherries, have failed; 

 the trees do not endure the climate. There is, however, one 

 small wild crab, Pyrus baccata, with a fruit about the size of a 

 large cherry, which has been obtained from the noi*thern part of 

 Siberia, that has proved perfectly hardy, having stood four or 

 five winters without showing any sign of winter killing. This 

 bears fruit very freely, and notwithstanding their diminutive 

 size these tiny apples make excellent jelly, and in their present 

 unimproved state would be much appreciated. Efforts are, how- 

 ever, being made to improve this small crab by cross-fertilizing it 

 with many of the hardiest sorts of apples. A large number of 

 these cross-bred seedlings will be ready for planting on the north- 

 west farms in another year. Suitable enclosures are being pre- 

 pared which will afford the young trees some protection and 

 within two or three years it is expected that some of these will 

 bear fruit. Similar experiments have also been carried on with 



