1986 



"WISCONSIN 



WISCONSIN 



tile. Owii!^ to the proximity of Lakes Superior un<l 

 Michit^aii, the climatic extremt-,-. arr jpss severe than 

 might' h(^ expected iu a reu-iou s(. rpniote from the 

 ocean. Tiie skies, whih- rh-ar.-r tliaii in the . ■astern 

 states, are somewhat luore ch.udy than in Iowa and iMiu- 

 nesota. 



Dania,i,nn{< frosts are not f<,iiiiu>>H in Wisconsin ex- 

 cept in certain districts of (.■(nii|>aratively small extent. 

 As in all of tlie northwestern states, summer droughts 

 are rather frequent, but are rarely so severe as to seri- 

 ously injure crops that are properly cared for. The 

 numerous lakes and streams offer excellent opportuni- 

 ties for irrigation, whifh has, however, received litth- 



\ / U0' U^- '^'^lli ll^mk'^ 



2742. The roof of No. 4. Fig. 2741. 



(See Winter Protection, p.-itices 1981-5.) 



atteiitiun as yet. The prevailing winds are westerly, 

 heuce the intiuence of the Great Lakes in tempering 

 the climate is less marked than in the southern penin- 

 sula of Michigan, hut the ciinuite of the eastern coun- 

 ties, and especially that of Donr ronnty, which lies be- 

 tween Greeu Bay and Lake JMichigaTi, is cumparatively 

 mild. 



The winters of Wisconsin are such as to preclude the 

 extensive i-ubivation of the tree fruits, except of the 

 hardier s[.K-<;ies and varieties, save in the eastern conn- 

 ties. But tlitt siimmers are very favorable to annual 

 crops, and to fruits that are readily protected in winter. 

 The change from winter to summer is often rather 

 abrupt. This brings on an exuberant growth early in 

 the season, which while satisfactoi'y for most crops, pro- 

 motes blight in the pome fruits. An equally precipitous 

 advent of winter soraetiraes causes damage to nursery 

 stock. These sudden changes, with the rather frequent 

 droughts in summer, combine to render the Wisconsin 

 climate severe for most perennial plants. When an ex- 

 ceptionally dry summer is followed by a winter of un- 

 usual severity, a disastrous thinning out of fruit trees 

 is likely to occur. The pioneer fruit planters, coming 

 mainly from New York and New England, with par- 

 donable ignorance of the severity of the Wisconsin 

 climate, x*i^"ted freely of eastern varieties, most of 

 which proved too tender for the new conditions. As the 

 natural result, the first orchards were mainly short- 

 lived, and the idea gained wide credence that Wisconsin 

 would never produce the tree fruits successfully. But 

 the experience of a few persistent planters has dis- 

 proved, in a measure, this hasty eonclusion. 



Wisconsin is one of the newer states in horticultural 

 development. A large part of its northern half is still 

 forest-clad. The cities are niosfly small, hence the 

 local demands for horticultural products are not lari^-'e. 

 But Minneapolis and St. Paul to the west, and the cities 

 bordering Lake Superior, make an export demand for 

 fruits and vegetables, for which the markets are gen- 

 erally good. 



The hardiest varieties of the u])plc sncrecd in soutli- 

 ern and I'astern W^isconsin, when planted on sites some- 



wliat higher than the surrounding country, especially 

 tlio-^e ini-iining to the north or northeast. The principal 

 (ireharils are lucat(.*d in Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Klch- 

 laiid. Sank. Donr and Waupa.-a counties. The lirst 

 named county has ime orchard of about 0,000 trees, 

 mostly Oldenburgh, located near Ripou, and a second 

 of about 4,000 trees uf various sorts at Eureka. These 

 orchards are supposed to be the largest in the state. 



The older orchards of Wisconsin are the outcome of 

 a long process of climatic selection. But the farmers 

 who were most anxious to grow apples continued to 

 idaTit trees in the hope of finding some that w<.)uld 

 prove satisfactory, and these hopes have been in 

 l)art realized. Uccasiunal seedling trees that grew 

 u|) in fence corners and elsewhere, from chance seeds, 

 or from seeds planted by pioneer farmers who felt 

 unable to purchase trees, were found to endure the 

 severer winters, while whole orchards of old varieties 

 were destroyed. Several of these have been adopted 

 into cultivation, and a few, as the Pewaukee, Wolf 

 liiver, McMahoii, Nortliwestern Greening and iS^ewell, 

 have become standard varieties of the northwest. The 

 Wealthy apple, from Minnesota, is also a standard win- 

 ter sort in Wisconsin, The ortdiards now being planted 

 are largely of these sorts, and the Ohlenl)urgh. The 

 Jiussian apples imported by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and the Iowa Agricultural College 

 have been quite largely planted experimentally in Wi.s- 

 consin, but thus far very few if any of them have 

 proved superior in any respect to our best natives. 

 Crab apples are considerably grown for market in 

 Waupaca and Eau Claire counties. The chief hin- 

 drances to apple culture in Wisctmsin, aside from win- 

 ter-killing, are the fire-blight, which desn-oys the tips 

 of the growing shoots in early summer, and sunscald, 

 which causes damage to the trunk in early spring or 

 during hot weather in summer. The latter is readily 

 prevented by shading the trunk. The codlin-motli is 

 destructive unless ))rev(.-nted by spraying or otherwise. 

 The apple scab is often serious in too closely-planted 

 orchards. It is controlled to a degree by spraying. The 

 apples of Wisconsin arc, as a rule, highly colored and 

 of large size, and the trees are very productive. 



The pear is not grown to any great extent in Wiscon- 

 sin, owing to the liability of the trees to fire-blight and 

 winter- killing. The varieties imported from Hussia 

 liave not proved more resistant to these affections tJian 

 the hardier sorts of American origin, or from western 

 Europe. Pears are frequently grown for home use in 

 the eastern counties, and the trees are sometimes quite 

 productive and long-lived. The Flemish Beauty has 

 perhaps been more successful than any other sort. 



The quince is less hardy in Wisconsin than the pear. 

 Trees are occasionally found in gardens in the eastern 

 counties that sometimes bear fruit after exceptionally 

 mild winters. 



The Americauas are the only plums that can be de- 

 pended upon to bear fruit regularly in all parts of Wis- 

 consin. The hardier sorts of the European plmn, Pnnnis 

 dohteatica. and of the Japanese plum, Prifini.s- trif/ora, 

 are fairly fruitful in the eastern part, notatdy in Door and 

 Kewaunee counties. The trees of the last two si)ecies, 

 as of those of Pnnnis horttdatia and Pninns avg^tsfi- 

 folia, endure the winters without harm throughout the 

 state, but the flower-buds are destroyed whenever the 

 thermometer registers nnich lower than 20^ below zero. 

 Pew plum orchards have been planted in W^isconsin, 

 and these are mainly of the European class. A plum 

 orchard of 14 acres at Sturgeon Bay is siipposed to be 

 the largest in the state. 



The early Richmond andMorello cherries are fairly suc- 

 cessful in Wisconsin, in localities stiitable to the aj>p]e. 

 The flower-buds of these cherries appear to be some- 

 what more hardy than those of the European and Japa- 

 nese plums. The trees are, however, subject to sunscald, 

 and unless protected are usually short-lived. Several 

 varieties of Pr-iinifs Cfrasys, introduced from Russia, 

 have I>een tested at various points in the state. While 

 till? flower-buds of these (hi not appear to be hardier 

 than those of the above-named sorts, their fruit matures 

 over a longer period, whiidi will give them value. Sweet 

 cherries {Pruning Ariuiii) are not successful in Wiscon- 



