year.

Wealthy; so much so that but two trees on my place will bear this The old varieties which produce such fine fruit, which I used to exhibit at our fairs are practically dead, and it don't seem possible that they can recover. I have had some Russian varieties a short time and have four or five that are not injured to any serious extent. The Duchess is not seriously injured; last year's growth was killed back some two inches. I am not, however, entirely discouraged; as soon as I found out the injury that had been done to my trees I resolved to go on again, and I shall continue my efforts in trying to grow apples in Minnesota. The very difficulties we have to contend with are going to help us the sooner to get a hardy variety. We have met with reverses, and every time it seems to be worse. But I tell you we are going to raise our own fruit, and have enough and to spare; we are going to find Russian varieties, I think, that are hardy; we may not find them adapted to all seasons of the year and every portion of the State; but, we are going to keep planting until we get what we are looking for.

Small fruits in our part of the State are doing well, especially strawberries and grapes. Raspberries in places were killed down to the snow line, which means ordinarily, within three inches of the ground. Blackberries were also killed that were not protected. Ev. erything seems to be favorable for fruit. I find much interest manifested among those who have been growing fruit long enough to raise it and they are replanting and carrying on the good work. I saw one man who had been growing trees for twenty-five years who wanted to buy some trees and when I showed him the dead trees, he said he should plant more of them and keep on trying. That seems to be the feeling among the members of our Society, and to my mind it indicates that we are doing a good work.

Mr. Fuller. The Transcendents which some persons have been trying to drive from our State are about the only trees that stand unin. jured in our section, north of the Big Woods; that stands very well. The wood is colored a little as is nearly every fruit tree in Minnesota; but it looks healthy. Usually the trees hang full of fruit. Next to the Transcendent in hardiness is the Orange; Minnesota and Beachs Sweet stand pretty well. Hutchinson's Sweet as a tree is hardy but does not bear any apples and I dug up the last of mine this spring. Whitney's No. 20 is hurt some but not very badly. I received about twenty Russian varieties a year ago from Professer Budd. A part of them killed to the ground and a part of them stand. I have a seedling

crab which is the least colored of anything I have seen-probably a seedling of the Transcendent, and the fruit a little larger; probably not much more valuable if any, than the Transcendent. Small fruits are all one could expect. We can do nothing up there with blackberries, except by laying them down. Raspberries were hurt a good deal. Currants, gooseberries and strawberries are a very fine crop.

Mr. Kramer. Mr. President, I had a letter from the Secretary asking me to give a report of my seedling apple trees, and as I had no time to write I thought I would not make him the trouble to read my poor writing or write it all over again for me. So I was induced to come up myself and I will give you the report so far as I can. [ sent the Secretary this spring some specimens of my seedling apples. I generally think that one can tell more by the taste than by the looks what fruit is good for. I have been sowing seed for a good many years and have received a good many apples, but must say to you that the nicest ones are entirely gone I think. Three or four trees are coming out, I wont say all right, but within the last two weeks have commenced growing and I think will recover. I have half a dozen younger trees that look well; some of the shoots have grown a foot and a half. They were hurt worse than I thought at first. Of the older trees there is not one that has recovered except the crabs, and the Duchess and Tetofsky, of course; the crabs I don't call apples. It is our duty to go on and try again; if one tree kills out we should set another and after awhile we will succeed, that is if we all try. If we plant the good seed, as the scripture says, the same with the apple as with the strawberry, we will have an apple and a strawberry for our use after awhile. The older trees are all gone, and we can't depend on the Duchess and Tetofsky. The apples don't keep long enough; they only keep long enough to take them from the tree into the mouth, and that is the last of them. We must try and find something better. Mr. Pearce. I would like to say one word in regard to a fruit report. I don't suppose there is anyone more interested in fruit growing in the State than I am. I had as fine an orchard as anyone and had about 4,000 trees and which I valued at five dollars a tree. Fully two-thirds of them are virtually dead and the prospect is not encouraging. At the same time those trees, many of them, will recover and produce fruit. They are reviving and I find that young shoots are coming up which in three years will bear fruit. I have probably 200 seedlings and nearly that many varieties. Among them I have one variety of excellent quality that fruited last year; it is early and

one of the best. It received the highest premium at the fair. The tree is green to the very top and not a bud was injured. I have several other varieties, not injured a particle, as well as several Russian varieties. We can graft upon these young shoots and we will soon have a better orchard than ever. Where my Wealthy trees died I shall graft with varieties that I know will stand, and if my life is spared three years my loss will more than be made good. We need perseverence and determination when we fight against the elements. The Almighty has given us a mind that is capable of endless improvement, and we can surmount all these difficulties, but if we submit and become discouraged we shall fail.

Mr. Kramer recommended growing trees from the roots instead of the ordinary method of grafting.

Mr. Sias said a very good way to graft trees was by budding.

Mr. Kramer. This is not alone for the nurserymen. I have an interest in this myself. I do not see any use in budding or grafting the way they do it. The cion from the tree does not start to grow in that way, it comes from the root. You take the roots and you can grow your trees from them; keep them from freezing in the winter and in the spring they will start out and come right ahead; so that in May you will have a tree that you can set out and will make a good growth the first year. What is the grafting for? You take the roots from one tree and put another piece of wood on to it; why don't you take the root and set that out? You would not take a part of one child and put it upon another, to make two children. [Laughter.]

Mr. Harris. One advantage from Mr. Kramer's method of propagating is probably very poorly understood by the mass of people. One difficulty in grafting with cions is caused by an imperfect union which causes injury to the tree. It looks reasonable to conclude that a tree upon its own roots will grow the most natural, and it will undoubtedly grow more rapidly and be longer lived upon its own roots.

Mr. Sias. If I understand Mr. Kramer's idea, it is to propagate from the roots, which is probably the nearest approach we can get to a seedling; it would naturally be a longer lived tree than a grafted or a budded one.

Mr. Kramer. If you take these sticks in and keep them through the winter they will naturally heal over; you set them out and the upper end is unhealed. In time the warm weather comes and causes the roots to start. It is the simplest to grow your trees in the way I have stated.

CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAMS.

Mr. Harris stated that the Wisconsin State Horticultural Soctiey was now in session, and moved that the Secretary be instructed to send a telegram of greeting to the Society. Carried.

The Secretary sent the following telegram:

MINNEAPOLIS, June 25.

Minnesota State Horticultural Society in convention assembled, sends greeting to the Wisconsin Society. A grand display of straw berries, and members are enthusiastic.

S. D. HILLMAN, Secretary.

REPLY.

Later in the day the following reply was received;

"WEYAUWEGA, June 25. Wisconsin Horticultural Society in session with the Weyauwega Society, receive greeting from the Minnesota Society and return the same. Come and see our Wolf River apples.

LETTER FROM PROF. BUDD.

B. S. HOXIE."

The following letter was received from Prof. J. L. Budd of Ames, Iowa, under date of June 23:

Mr. S. D. Hillman-My Dear Sir: I have just returned from the nurserymen's convention at Chicago. I find that the old sorts of trees are mainly dead through to Lake Michigan; only the Russians and the crabs are really alive at Waukegan, Ill. My old forty-acre orchard in Benton county is wholly dead, except Duchess, Wealthy, Plumb's Cider, Gros Pomier and the crabs, and all except the Duchess and the crabs are sadly hurt. It will pay the State of Minnesota to send a man to Eastern Russia to forward cions. Any variety of apple, cherry or plum doing well in the province of Limbursk and Kazan will live with you as well as box elder. But many of the sorts of Central and Western Russia will fail to stand your test winters. It is impossible to get cions or trees from Eastern Russia without being on the ground. If packed there by inexperienced parties without moss-there is no moss there-they always get used up by their four months' voyage.

We are most anxious to get the varieties of the black soil sections of Central Russia, say of Oreal and Varouesk, and for Southern Iowa down to Koursk. Yours,

J. L. BUDD.

President Smith. discuss small fruits.

THE LEAF-ROLLER.

One of the objects of our summer meeting is to There are many insects which prove injurious to small fruits and I would like to have the experience of some of those present in regard to the leaf-roller, which has done a good deal of damage in some sections.

Mr. Oliver Gibbs, Jr. being called upon came forward and said:

Mr. Gibbs. About all the information I could give you is as to the destructive character of the pest, and so far as that is concerned I think you already have about all the information you want. I had experience with the leaf-roller two years ago; they were all over my strawberry beds and I had three or four acres planted. On one-half acre they destroyed the whole crop. I mulched my strawberries with fine straw taken from an old ice house. In the spring I noticed very early that the birds were digging over that straw. I examined and found where they had searched for these insects, going some six inches down in the straw sometimes. The following season I discovered hardly any signs of the leaf-roller, and I think the birds took them. I do not know of any artificial remedy whatever. It is the most destructive pest I think, that ever infested strawberry plants.

Secretary Hillman here referred to remedies recommended in the report of the Missouri Horticultural Society, exterminating the leafroller by mowing and burning the leaves in mid summer, etc.

Mr. Busse. Do they deposit their larvæ in the ground in the spring? Mr. Gibbs. The insect hatches out in the spring and is about a sixteenth of an inch in length, and commences its work after warm weather begins. It weaves a web consisting of little bars, across the stem or leaf of the plant, and the leaves commence to fold together. It weaves its way along until the leaf is entirely folded together and after it is closed no poison can touch it unless it is strong enough to kill the plant. Ordinary solutions of Paris green have no effect. It has been said that the burning of the fields in the fall or spring has proven of benefit. I think Prof. Forbes reported to our Society that they had tried it in Illinois and it was the only effectual remedy they had ever used. The worm changes its form and becomes apparently lifeless; it eats its way through the leaf, drops off and buries itself in the rubbish or mulch on the ground. There seems to be a period when it lies among the vines or rubbish, when they can be destroyed by burning; but if not destroyed it remains near the surface of the soil and comes out in the spring. Of course it changes its form to a fly