ED. Western Horticulturist: Do apples ever reproduce the identical same fruit from seeds,' is a question often asked, some asserting they do, others denying. That they do occasionally reproduce the same fruit from seeds, an exactness in all parts, is a fact I have seen more than once.' Whilst at home with my father, he set twenty-five trees, all from seed of the Milan apple, and all came true, to the parent tree, in tree, fruit and time of ripening; and last year had a seedling cherry crab to come into bearing a complete representative of the parent; but such, I admit, is not often the case, not even bearing a resemblance in tree. We have young trees grown from crab seed, some are crab in tree, others apple; and others grown from carefully selected apple seeds; that perfect apple and perfect crab trees are found in same lot, showing a variation from the parent in tree, as well as in fruit, is possible. The seeds of the apple and crab all grew close together, and the trees, as far as they have borne, show crab fruit on all trees showing crab, and sorry to say on nearly all the balance, though a little improved in size and flavor over the fruit of any of the regular crab trees, and indeed over any crabs we have yet grown, but none a really good eating apple.

Have some hundred more fine seedlings to come in yet, on which will report from time to time. Excelsior, Minnesota. Peter M. Gideon.

N.B. - Would add, pears dead or badly damaged, and all varieties of the apple hurt, more or less; but few apples this season. Grapes not covered, all dead, the smaller fruits generally sound, I think, owing perhaps to the great depth of early snow-fall. The winter was cold, beyond any precedent known to oldest settlers, the snow not all gone yet - three feet of ice on the lake, March 30.