500 
Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
a prolific bearer. The young grower especially may derive benefit 
by starting plats of vines, from selections of the best varieties that 
he can find. I hope we may, ere long, discover some variety, which 
will excel all our common kinds. The present knowledge of the 
science of cranberry-culture as practiced by the best growers in 
the northwest, is very limited, but will continually improve. We 
need to cultivate a habit of close observation and study, so as to 
guard against losses and failure. 
THE SIBERIAN APPLE—ITS USES IN THE POMOLOGY 
OF THE NORTHWEST. 
J. C. PLUMB, MILTON. 
The infusion of the Siberian element into our common apple is 
an event of great import, and one that we do well to consider in its 
widest bearings on our future pomology. When we take into ac¬ 
count the fact that only about one-third of the area of our State 
dare plant anything but 11 Crabs,” and at present only the four 
southern tier of counties feel safe in planting our general list of 
apples recommended as “hardy,” it becomes a matter of grave im¬ 
portance that we, by any and all means, secure a race of apples 
that will extend this area of .success to its farthest limits, even to 
the remotest corner of our State; and, especially, to supply the 
great agricultural and timber regions of central Wisconsin with 
safe and sure apples. 
Our present race of choice apples proves quite satisfactory for 
the southern portion of the State, but in view of the destitution of 
so great a part of our commonwealth, we should explore every ave¬ 
nue promising improvement in the direction of adaptation. The 
entire effort of pomologists for the last century, both in this country 
as well as in Europe, has been in the direction of qualitij of fruit. 
These efforts have been a success, for better apples could not be de¬ 
sired. But the process of refinement of fruit has also been one of 
weakening of physical structure, and we of the northwest must go 
back to first principles, and infuse the northern element into our 
fruit-trees, as we have done in our people. In our pomology we 
