Experiment Work of Chas. G. Patten, Charles City, Ia.
GEO. J. KELLOGG, LAKE MILLS, WIS.
June 6.—I have just spent four days with our friend Patten. He has 7,000 surprises on seventeen acres of experiment orchard dating back to 1868—every tree of the 7,000 has a history.
For twenty-eight years he has been working on the Chinese sand pear and has brought out a race that is blight-proof, perfectly hardy and of good size and quality. He is not yet satisfied, but has 5,000 cross-bred seedlings of many crosses that are about three feet high, ready for transplanting in orchard rows next spring—and he has not room to set them. The state of Iowa does not appreciate his labor or value the work he has done and is doing; they are not giving him the money or men to carry on this work.
Beside the pear experiments he has hundreds of crosses of apples that are very promising and just coming into bearing. These are scattered all through that orchard of 7,000 trees, with the pears, and nearly as many plum crosses. Some plums are heavily loaded this year that are of wonderful value, and one of the great points is that they have escaped the bad weather in blooming time, while all our standard varieties failed—and I believe the hardiness of bloom will insure fruit on his best kinds when others fail in bad weather.
He is breeding form of tree in all these fruits—see his paper in the last volume of Iowa Hort. Report. His crop of apples is light, but many crosses show some fruit. Some pears and plums are loaded. Eugene Secor says, "Patten is greater than Burbank."
Windbreaks on Farm Pay Dividends.—Windbreaks are usually more or less ornamental on a farm, and add to the contentment of the owner. But it is not generally known that windbreaks actually pay dividends. At least studies made a few years ago in Nebraska and Kansas indicate that windbreaks are profitable. The state forester will soon study their influence in this state. It must be admitted that windbreaks occupy space that could be profitably devoted to agricultural crops, and that the roots of the trees and their shade render a strip of ground on either side of the windbreak relatively unproductive. Yet in spite of these drawbacks, efficient windbreaks undoubtedly do more good than evil.
The windbreak reduces the velocity of the wind, and, consequently, the loss of soil water from evaporation from the soil surface and from the field crops. This is equivalent to additional rainfall, just as "a dollar saved is a dollar made." It seems from investigations made by the United States Forest Service that the greater yield of field crops and apples behind the protection of a good windbreak is enough to warrant every farmer in the prairie states in planting windbreaks.—W. J. Morrill, Colo. Agri. College.
MIDSUMMER REPORTS, 1916.
Collegeville Trial Station.
REV. JOHN B. KATZNER, SUPT.
The weather conditions of last winter were not any too favorable for plants and fruit trees. In fact the cold was at times severe and long continued, reaching its maximum with 38 degrees below for one day. The total subzero weather for the winter amounts to 489 degrees, of which January figures with 285 and February with 168 degrees below. This is some cold, no doubt, and yet our hardy fruit trees did not suffer. But other trees not quite hardy suffered more than usual. This is particularly noticeable on my German pear seedlings. The wood of the branches as well as of the stem had turned black down to the ground. All the imported European varieties of pears are dead and ready for the brush pile. Prof. N. E. Hanson's hybrid pears have suffered just a little. This, however, may be due to the unripe condition of the wood rather than to cold. They had been grafted on strong German pear stock, made a vigorous growth and were still growing when the frost touched them. Another season they may be all right. All our cherry trees, too, are almost dead and will be removed and their place used for a trial orchard.
It was of great advantage to plants and trees that we had much snow, giving them good protection in root and stem two feet up. But this deep snow helped the rabbits also in reaching the lower branches of the apple trees. They were very active during the winter months and did much damage by biting off the buds and smaller twigs from those branches, but did no injury to the bark of trees otherwise.
Spring was rather cold and late. Up to the middle of May there was not much growth of any kind. But we started work at the station as soon as the ground could be worked. Apple and plum grafts made last winter were set out. The orchard was gone over and trees pruned where needed. The grape vines were uncovered and tied up on the trellis. A liberal dressing of manure was worked in around vines growing on poor soil. More than a hundred Alpha grape vines were planted along a students' walk for their future benefit. The everbearing strawberries were looked after and a new bed was started. Some apple trees were planted in the orchard to replace others. Quite a number of German pear seedlings were grafted with hardy varieties an inch below ground. We expect this will give us healthy and hardy trees and fruit in due time.
Patten's No. 108 in blossom at Collegeville Station.
A friend of mine sent me from Los Angeles, Cal., four fine large cherry trees: the Tartarian, Napoleon Bigarreau and Early Richmond. These are one year old budded trees; they have made in the congenial climate of California a growth of about eight feet and are an inch through the stem. They arrived the first week in March. It was cold yet and the ground covered with a foot of snow. As we could not plant them, we applied water to the roots and kept the trees unpacked in the cool root cellar till planting time. They are growing now, but next spring we expect to see their finish. Another variety of sweet cherries was sent to the trial station from the mountains of Pennsylvania and planted in the nursery, but we expect that will meet the same fate. From the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture we have obtained scions of a pear, No. 26485, which were used in budding some German pear seedlings, as also ten plants of Prunus Tomentosa No. 38856. This is a Chinese bush cherry, and though the fruit is of little value, yet the plant is said to be quite ornamental.
In forestry work 200 arbor vitae were set out, more for ornamental effect, and in open places of the woods several thousand Scotch pine were planted. This planting was also extended partly around the opposite lake shore to improve the landscape during the winter months, when everything looks bleak and dreary.
This station has received quite a liberal supply of new stock for trial from the Minn. State Fruit-Breeding Farm, viz.: June bearing strawberry No. 3, everbearing kind No. 1017, raspberry No. 4 and everbearing sorts Nos. 30 and 31; of plums, Nos. 35, 9, 21, 1, and sand cherry crossed with Climax; of apples, six Malindas, Nos. 38, 32, 29, 25, 12 and 12. They are fine large trees and were planted in the trial orchard. Ten smaller apple trees which we received were set out in the nursery and after a year or two will find their place in the orchard. These trees are labeled: Gilbert, Winesap, Russet Seedling, then Nos. 90, 271, 269, 16, 7045 and A1. All of this stock has been carefully planted and is now doing well.
The only variety of fruit trees which bloomed before the 20th of May was the Akin plum. Most all other trees were getting ready to bloom, but it was really too cold for them to open their flowers. From that time on the blooming became more general among the plums and later among the apples. The trees which did not bear last year were full of flowers. Some of the new plums, too, had quite a number of blossoms, and we are watching with great interest what the fruit will be, as we intend to propagate the best ones in a small way for home use.
Of small fruits we have now on trial five varieties of raspberries and also three sorts of strawberries, Nos. 3, 4 and Progressive. This will give us a good chance to judge of their relative value as to hardiness, quality and quantity of fruit.
The truck garden is taken care of as usual, but is far behind other years in growth and development of vegetables on account of the cold spring. If it were not for our greenhouse and hotbeds, I think we would yet be without radishes and lettuce.
The same may be said in regard to the planting of our lawns. The plants were all ready in the greenhouse, but the planting had to be deferred as long as there was danger of frost. The flower beds on the lawns were finally planted, the designs are very good, but it will take some time yet till their beauty can be seen and enjoyed.
Judging from present conditions, we may get a pretty good crop of fruits. The time for the late spring frosts passed by without doing any harm. The weather during blooming was favorable for setting a good crop of apples and plums. The grapes, too, show up well and promise a good crop, and the strawberries and currants are doing splendidly.