Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota Part 93

Mrs. Gould: Mrs. Wyman will read Mrs. Boyington's paper. Mrs. Boyington was unable to be with us today. (See index.)

Mrs. Gould: Mrs. Countryman will read a paper written by Mr. Swanson on the judging of flowers. (See index.)

Mrs. Gould: Our meeting will close with Professor Washburn's talk on "Bird Conservation," which will be given with slides and music.

Professor Washburn gives lantern talk.

December 9, 1915, Morning Session.

Half hour question and answer exercise on "Truck Crop and Garden Insects," led by Professor Wm. Moore. (See index.)

The President: The committee on fruit list has been working very hard trying to determine why we have particular varieties on the list and the changes, if any, that should be made. Mr. J. P. Andrews, the chairman of the committee, is the man who has been doing most of this work, and we will be glad to hear from him at this time. He is quite radical and in favor of many changes as you will note when he reads his report.

Mr. Andrews: There are very few changes, and you know it has been the policy of this society rather to be conservative and not jump at anything until we know what it is. (Reads new fruit list.)

Mr. Andrews: I move its adoption.

Motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

Mr. Andrews: I would like to call attention to the fact that a great many criticize that we do not change the list from time to time. I have thought that for a long time. Two or three years ago there was a little move towards making it so we could change it. We are putting up some nice, big premiums for late winter apples and early winter apples, and there are undoubtedly some seedlings that would be all right to put upon the list if we knew more about them. It seems to me it is foolish to pay those premiums and then drop it right there. We do not know any more about whether they are hardy or not than if they had been grown in Missouri. They may have grown well through some protection or favorable location, but when you commence grafting from a seedling it does not give satisfaction as a grafted tree and in different localities of the country.

We want to know whether the new seedlings are hardy enough for this climate, not that they are simply of good quality to eat and perhaps will keep. We find that out here, but we do not find out anything about the hardiness.

I think we ought to require a person who has produced a good seedling and gotten a good premium for it to send some of its scions to the superintendent of the Fruit-Breeding Farm for testing and let him send it out to points north of here, between here and the northern part of the state, to see how much hardiness it has. Hardiness is the quality we want more than anything else. We have gotten along so far with the Hibernal, and we ought not to be so particular about quality as about hardiness. They ought to be required to give Mr. Haralson a few of the scions or buds so that he could try them there at the fruit-breeding farm and send them out to more northern locations under number, so that the originator will be just as well protected, and it will add so much to the value of the new seedling that he ought to be anxious to do it instead of holding it back as is now done.

I move you that we have some arrangement whereby those drawing the premiums for the first and second qualities, keeping qualities and eating qualities, etc., shall be obliged to give to Mr. Haralson something to work on, either scions or buds of those varieties, so that they can be tested in that way and we know what they are, otherwise it leaves it for any one to introduce a new variety just about on the same ground that some other varieties have been introduced in the state, made a nice, large thing for the man that introduced them to the public and sold them but afterwards proved a great disappointment to almost every man who ever planted them. I move that we make such an arrangement, and we recommend that the state fair do the same.

Mr. Horton: I second the motion.

The President: It is moved and seconded that some arrangement be made requiring people who enter seedling apples for prizes at the horticultural meeting and the state fair to furnish scions or buds of such varieties to the central station to Superintendent Charles Haralson that he may determine whether the trees are hardy and suitable for this climate or not.

Mr. Andrews: We need this provision so that Superintendent Haralson could visit those trees and see what they looked like.

Mr. Latham: I move that this matter be referred to the executive board to develop a workable plan to secure the purposes which Mr. Andrews has in view.

The President: Do you accept that as a subst.i.tute?

Mr. Andrews: I would if it wasn't for this one thing. It was left that way a year or two ago, and it hasn't amounted to a thing. I do not care if it is left to the executive committee if Mr. Latham will vouch for its being put through.

Mr. Latham: Don't you remember as the result of that action we prepared forms to be used by those who examined the seedlings and decided what seedlings should be further tested and all that sort of thing. We have those forms for use if the committee wants to use them.

Mr. Andrews: Those ought to be so as to hold the premium money back until we get some material to test.

Mr. Latham: I will say a few words. It is not such a simple matter as it seems. Here come perhaps fifty people who have grown seedlings. We tell them we are very desirous that all the seedlings in the state that have promise of merit be shown. In the division of the premium money they do not get more than four or five dollars apiece, the best of them do not get more than eight or ten dollars. Then here comes a resolution which says, "Before you draw this money you have to furnish scions to the state fruit-breeding farm with the privilege of sending out to other stations in the state for testing." The average man who owns a seedling that is really a good thing begins to think about it, and we will not get what we want. If a man has a seedling that is better than the d.u.c.h.ess and Wealthy and has hardiness as well there are lots of buyers around here that have their eyes open. There has been a half a dozen I know of picked up in the last few years really first cla.s.s, fine and hardy. Those trees are being tested out. It would be a splendid thing if we could get a really good seedling, as Mr. Andrews says, but a resolution of this kind will not result in doing what we want to do.

I would like to have it referred to the executive board so they can work out a practical plan. Mr. Andrews is a member of the board. I renew my motion.

Motion is seconded.

The President: The original motion as given by Mr. Andrews is that those people offering seedlings for prizes, before they receive premiums--

Mr. Andrews: The first or second premiums, I said, because that would shut out all of the others.

The President:--before receiving the first or second premiums, that they be required or that they will agree to furnish scions or buds for experimental purposes, these scions or buds to be sent to the central station to Mr. Haralson for the purpose of testing them out as to hardiness, under number. Now, the amendment made by Mr. Latham is to the effect that this matter be referred to the executive committee. We will first put the amendment that it be referred to the executive committee to work out a practical plan.

Mr. Heustis: And report next year.

The President: That they work out a practical plan and put it in operation. Was it your idea that we report next year or that the plan be put in operation?

Mr. Latham: No objection to reporting next year. If they can work out a plan they can also put it in practical operation.

Mr. Andrews: I do not think that I am after this now, gentlemen, any more than every one of you ought to be after it. We ought to know more about the hardiness of these trees. This list has stood almost identically the same list for eight or nine years, pretty nearly the same, and we are not getting ahead at all. We do not know any more about the hardiness of these trees we have been putting out than we did before.

The amendment was carried.

The President: This matter will therefore be referred to the executive board. The next in order is the annual report of the executive board, Mr. J. M. Underwood, of Lake City, chairman. Mr. Underwood is sojourning in the sunny south. He has sent a report, however, to Secretary Latham, and Mr. Latham has requested me to read it. This was written at St.

Augustine, Florida. (See index.)

The President: Any one wish to make any comments on this report? If not, we will pa.s.s to the report of the secretary, Mr. Latham.

Mr. Latham: Do you wish to have the report read or have it published later? It will be published anyway.

Mr. Miller: Let it be considered as read and approved and filed for publication. (See index.)

Motion is seconded and carried.

The President: We will now have the report of George W. Strand, treasurer. (See index.)

The President: What will you do with the report of the treasurer? You have heard the reading of it.

Upon motion the report was adopted and filed.

The President: The next order of business would be the paper by Professor J. C. Whitten but Mr. Whitten is not present, I am sorry to say, and I am now going to call on Mr. O. M. Heustis as he is present to tell us about his "Dwarf Apple Trees." (See index.)

The President: We are very much indebted to the doctor for his interesting talk. Is Professor Mackintosh in the room? I was going to ask him to read a paper on "Successful Cold Storage Plant for Apples,"

sent in by Mr. Hanson. I am sorry that Mr. Hanson is not able to be present, he is ill at home.

Professor Mackintosh not being present, paper was read by Mr. Clarence Wedge.

The President: Mr. Wedge will have a word for us at this time. He has a suggestion to make.

Mr. Wedge: Ladies and gentlemen, fellow members: Once a year our society has been in the habit of bestowing the highest honor within its gift upon some of the members that have honored the society for so many years with their services and have made themselves in that way so valuable to the public that we feel that they deserve the highest recognition which we are able to give them as a society. It becomes my great pleasure at this time, standing in the place of my friend, Mr. Underwood, who is absent, to propose the following names to you which have been recommended by the executive board for this honor. There are five of them, the names are: John Bisbee, of Madelia; Charles Haralson, our superintendent at Excelsior; Mr. F. W. Kimball, of Waltham; Mr. John R.

c.u.mmins, of Minneapolis, and Mr. S. H. Drum, of Owatonna.

Mr. Bisbee has undertaken and is carrying on one of the largest experiments in seedling apples in the Northwest. He seems to be a very quiet member among us, but he is one of the working members who are doing the things that the society most needs.

I do not need to tell you anything about the work of Charles Haralson, the superintendent of our fruit-breeding farm at Zumbra Heights. His work has approved itself to us all so much that I think he really deserves the statement that was made by one of our older members that he has outdone Burbank. He certainly has for this part of the country.