As to cherries, we have none that are satisfactory.  Some work has been carried on for several years, but we have not obtained anything of special value so far.  The most promising combinations are Compass cherry crossed with the cultivated varieties.  None of these have fruited, but we have some hope for a hardy cherry from these seedlings.

Peaches and apricots are not hardy in Minnesota, and consequently nobody thinks of planting them.  Some years ago we started crossing the sand cherry with peaches and apricots.  The results were a number of seedlings, but all turned out to be worthless; the trees after several years growth were small, or grew mostly in bush form.  They blossomed every spring but never set any fruit on account of some imperfection in the flowers.  Four years ago we started to use the Compass cherry as the male parent, and this combination is more promising.  The seedlings make a good growth and a fairly good sized tree, practically as hardy as the Compass cherry.  The seedlings resemble the apricots and peaches in blossom, tree and foliage.  This fruit will not be exactly an apricot or a peach, but may take the place of these fruits in a small way.

[Illustration:  No. 7 Hybrid Seedling Plum—­from Minnesota State Fruit-Breeding Farm, at Zumbra Heights.]

The Compass cherry crossed with Prunus Pissardi, or purple leaf plum, is a very interesting combination.  We have about fifty seedlings growing.  Most of them have the purple foliage and bark, are very ornamental and can be used with effect for lawns and landscape planting where large shrubs are wanted.

The grapes.  The Vitis Labrusca, such as Concord, Worden, Moore’s Early and many other varieties, are not hardy unless protected during winter.  There is a demand for hardy grapes that do not need any winter protection.  At the Fruit-Breeding Farm this problem has been taken up on a large scale.  The Beta grape is hardy but lacks in size and quality.  This variety has been used to grow many thousands of seedlings from, and also used in cross-breeding with the better varieties.  A large percent of Beta seedlings come true to seed or nearly so.  This gives us several hundred varieties equal to Beta, and some of them are quite an improvement in size and quality over the parent and practically as hardy as the wild grape.  Many of these are worthy of propagation where hardiness is the main object.  Very few of the hybrid grape seedlings have fruited, but indications are that in a few years we will have grapes equal in size and quality to any of our commercial varieties.

Experiments are being carried on in a small way with pears, roses and nuts.  Our native hazelnuts can be improved by selection and crossing with the filberts.  The same is true with the Rosa Rugosa and our native roses.