This vast fertile country is dotted all over with fine native groves, heavily laden each year with strictly winter fruit, known to the botanist as Pyrus coronaria. That this will prove to be the richest horticultural mine ever opened up to the people of the northwest, no one needs to doubt who admits the fact that "the apple is the king of all fruits," and that winter fruit is the most desirable. I came to Minnesota to make it my home 30 years ago, and I have never known any one to attempt to hybridize or civilize the wild crab in this state. C. G. Patten, Iowa, we believe, holds the distinction of being the first man in the northwest, if not in this country, to hybridize Pyrus coronaria. I regret, however, that he did not select a tree from his own wild thicket to start from, rather than the Soulard, which we are informed was found wild near St. Louis. The Soulard is a failure on my grounds, while we have had forms of the same species found here, top-worked with hybrids, and standing perfectly in high open ground for the past 15 years. If our short lease of life holds good till that time "when the roses come again," we propose to hunt for the largest and best variety of the Pyrus coronaria to be found in this latitude.

We have seen them with fruit fully as large as the Soulard crab.

I should hybridize with the best of the hardy Russians. In our search for the coming winter apple we tried the common apple and found it too tender. We tried the crab and found the fruit too perishable, the plant too good a home for the bacteria. Lastly, we tried the Russian and found it the best of all, but not wholly satisfactory as to winter. A. W. Sias, Minnesota.