48 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



east wind, taking off all the snow, was followed by a northern down-pour, run- 

 ning the thermometer down to forty-five degrees below zero." 



In the province of Kazan, on the upper waters of the Volga, and about 430 

 miles east of Moscow, the peasantry and some landed proprietors are largely en- 

 gaged in apple-growing. An orchard thirty years of age is described as con- 

 sisting of SIX varieties, fall and winter sorts, fourten feet apart, and standing not 

 over fifteen feet in height, the largest measuring only five inches in diameter. 

 The conclusion was reached by the observations made in the province named, 

 that the varieties there so largely cultivated will be found profitable in Dakota 

 and Minnesota. In Simbirsk, where "every available spot is planted with ap- 

 ple, pear, plum, and cherry trees, the summer air is as dry and hot during the 

 day as that of Iowa. The extreme winters, which come as with us at intervals 

 of from six to eight years, are colder than in any part of Minnesota/' the tem- 

 perature of fifty below having been experienced in 1877. 



Orchards of 12,000 trees, ninety per cent of them winter varieties, are 

 found at Saratov, and Professor Budd remarks with surprise the systematic man- 

 agement of the orchards, as well as the large, fine-looking fruit produced by 

 them. He states in seasons of unusual drouth the orchards are watered to 

 carry the fruit to maturity. Irrigation is here managed by flowing the water in 

 wooden troughs, supplied by a large reservoir, to basins at the foot of each tree. 

 These reservoirs are kept filled by steam pumps. Worthy of special note was 

 found the system of forestry under the control of the government, the planta- 

 tions of trees ranging in size from 18,000 to 21,000 acres each, under the over- 

 sight of trained foresters, and consisting of Scotch pine, oak, birch, basswood, 

 or elm, in separate tracts, mixed planting not being favorably regarded. 



Concerning the much lauded Russian mulberry, it is said to kill back in 

 severe winters, and reports of its use in Russia as a timber-tree are without 

 foundation, unless in the extreme south. Apples were found which were com- 

 pared by the observers named to our Grimes' Golden, Dominie, White Winter 

 Pearmain, Limber Twig, and other standard sorts, but of better keeping quality 

 and greater vigor of constitution ; pears of good quality, perfectly hardy, and, as 

 Professor Budd thinks, capable of resisting blight more or less fully ; cherries 

 and plums of superior quality and of great hardiness ; and many beautiful and 

 hardy additions to our ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as to the list of 

 profitable trees for forest-planting on our western plains. In a letter to the 

 writer, Professor Budd says : " Our work is not confined to the far northern 

 fruits. The idea is to get the fruits, shrubs, and plants of those portions of 

 Europe with dry, hot summers, and cold winters. Boiken apple, Batullen ap- 

 ple, Bauman's Reinette, etc., Sapieganka pear, and very many other things we 

 grow, are just what Kansas needs. So in the peach line." 



Of all these sorts, scions or seeds were secured, and are now in process of 

 trial on the grounds of the Iowa College; and their early dissemination among 

 the intelligent horticulturists of the Northwest will soon show how valuable they 

 are, and how fully the enthusiasm of Mr. Budd is warranted. 



