During 1877 the writer was in correspondence with Dr. Edward Regel, of St. Petersburg, and Prof. R. Shroeder, of the Agricultural College near Moscow, in regard to the fruits of the steppes east to the Volga, and south to the Black and Caspian seas. As I knew that these eminent scientists and promologists had been educated in Germany, and that they were well acquainted with the fruits of southwest Europe, I was somewhat surprised by their statements that in size, appearance and quality the apples, cherries, plums and prunes of east Europe in the interior provinces compared favorably with those of Germany.

In the summer of 1878 we sent drafts for 100 roubles to each of these gentlemen with the request that varieties of the interior provinces be forwarded if obtainable through their interior correspondents.

In March, 1879, we received in good order scions of 72 varieties of the apple and small plants of a number of varieties of the pear, cherry, plum and prune from Dr. Regel, and in May we received scions of 164 varieties of the apple, and rooted plants of a number of varieties of pear, plum, cherry, prune, dwarf juneberry and other things in the line of shrubs and trees.

During the winter of 1878-9 we also received apple scions of the Russian varieties from Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y., A. G. Tuttle, of Baraboo, Wis., and from the Department of Agriculture; at Washington, the latter being cut from bearing trees by special arrangement made by Senator Kirkwood. At least two specimen trees were started, by top-working on Gros Pomier or Duchess trees set in experimental orchard the preceding spring, of about half the varieties collected. The large part, however, of the scions collected was root-grafted, or crown-grafted, on one year Duchess trees in nursery, and in due time sent out to trial stations over a large part of the west and cold north.

In the experimental orchard we also top-worked scions of quite a large number of promising seedlings from Montreal, North Wisconsin and other sections with trying climates, in the spring of 1879, with a few of the hardiest varieties of the old list. No further importations were made until the fall of 1882 and the spring of 1883 and 1884.

In the summer of 1882, in company with the lamented Charles Gibb, I was permitted to spend four very busy months with the horticulturists and among the orchards of northeast Germany, Poland, and nearly all parts of Russia in Europe, from the Black Sea and the Caspian north to St. Petersburg, Moscow and the upper Volga.

This resulted in making seventeen separate importations from northeast Germany, Poland and various parts of the interior steppe provinces as noted in our bulletin of 1885, and in part in the report of the American Porno-logical Society for 1887. As the varieties imported at this time were personally selected on the ground, and forwarded by the most careful orchardists and pomo-logists of the east, we expected that they would all prove true to name and serve as checks for correcting mistakes made in the Department list and by less skilled parties in other importations.

In reality this expectation has been realized, though many of the varieties were mixed to a much greater extent than the varieties we imported earlier, selected by Dr. Regel and Dr. Shroeder. This mixing was not so much the result of carelessness as we at first supposed. At the agricultural colleges the scions were mainly cut from top-worked trees on which often four or five varieties were fruiting. That a common workman should now and then cut from an interlocked limb is not surprising. Again the cherries, plums and prunes were on their own roots, and our experience with sprouts would lead us to expect some mixing from crossing of roots and seedlings. This kind of mixing we were soon able to detect, but not soon enough to prevent receiving many scoldings for sending out mixed stock. It could not be avoided, and has resulted in getting some very valuable varieties of the cherry and plum, for which we have had to coin new names. With the exception of the cherry, plum and other rooted plants, the varieties introduced since 1882 were propagated and sent out for trial to trial stations - now about 800 in number.

The setting of a new orchard was deferred on account of the difficulty of keeping specimens on public grounds ransacked by hundreds of students, residents and outside visitors and prowlers. Yet in the spring of 1888 we set in Experimental Orchard "No. 2" all the most promising varieties of the orchard fruits not included in orchard set in 1878 and 1879.

Except in a small way these trees are not yet in bearing, but they will have great interest and value in the near future. In the meantime we have received reports and specimen fruits from nearly all varieties on trial, and the older orchard has produced several hundred bushels of fruit.