16 BULLETIN 1301, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Drought at critical periods durmg the growing season causes 
severe losses, and often is responsible for poor stands the first summer 
after planting. Strong winds increase the amount of drying out in 
both winter and summer, cause damage to the fohage, blow much 
fruit from the trees, and if accompanied by high temperatures, some- 
times cause scalding or burning of fruit and tender foliage. ~Protec- 
tion from wind is almost essential to success with fruit. The average 
length of the frost-free period at Mandan is 134 days. This limits 
fruit to comparatively late-blossoming and early-maturing varieties. 
The horticultural work at the station has had three objects: (1) To 
determine the varieties best adapted to the region; (2) to determine 
the horticultural methods best suited to the conditions: and (3) to 
create by plant breeding new or improved varieties better adapted 
than those already available. The work is reported under four 
groups or headings: Pomology, or fruit growing; olericulture, or 
vegetable growing; ornamentals and landscape gardening; and. 
miscellaneous. 
The horticultural work at the station began mn 1913. This report 
covers the 10-year period, 1913-1922. 
POMOLOGY 
Success with fruits is extremely rare, and very few of the thousands 
of trees planted on the northern Great Plains have lived to bearing 
age. Standard varieties and methods used farther east have been 
found unsuited to the trying conditions. It is not likely that this 
region will ever be able to compete commercially with other localities 
better adapted to fruit growing, but enough has been done to indi- 
cate that it is both possible and worth while to grow some fruit for 
home use. 
A considerable part of the horticultural work at Mandan has been 
devoted to fruit growing. Variety tests, cultural tests, and fruit- 
breeding work have been in progress. 
VARIETY TESTS 
Variety tests are always of importance in a new region, as one 
must know, first of all, what varieties to plant. Not only the varie- 
ties standard in the nursery trade but new productions from northern 
States and introductions from foreign countries are involved in the 
testing. A number of introductions made by the Office of Foreign 
Seed and Plant Introduction of the United States Department of 
Agriculture and by the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plains, Mass., 
are being tested, and some give promise of being valuable additions 
to the present list of hardy fruits. Others are useful for plant 
breeding. 
APPLES 
A large number of the hardier varieties of apples and crab apples 
have been tested. Apples have not been generally successful from 
the standpoint of fruit production, but it is too early to draw definite 
conclusions, as the oldest trees are only 8 years old. Altogether 
‘about 2,000 apple and crab-apple trees, representing nearly 100 
varieties, have been planted for variety tests or other purposes. 
About 10 per cent of the trees planted failed to start growth, and 
