Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-07-07
PROMOLOGIST G PATTEN
Receives Herited Recognition Prom the
U. s. Government fer Life Devot-
ed 10 Science.
TaE BURBANK OF TIE STATE OF
IOWA.
Has Just Been Appointed Expert Bree-
der of Fruits by United States De.
partment of Agriculture.

Mr. Charles G. Patten, the Luther
Burbank of Iowa, has recently received
an appointment as expert breeder of
fruits by the United States DEPART
ment of Agriculture for the United De
| partment of Agriculture. the Iowa
State Horticultural Society and the
Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station.
This is but deserved recognition Of
the lifelong work carried on by Mr..
| Patten in the origination and dissem
inatiOn of new fruits which have prov
en- to be of untold benefit to the north
west states. His Patten Greening has
without doubt, added not less than a
million of dollars to the prosperity of
the state Of Minnesota alone, without
! counting the immense benefit to the
| balance of the states of the upper Mis-
sissippi and Missouri valleys. And this
Is only one of the group of apples and
| plums for hardness, flavor and ability
to produce has no equal for this section.
Mr.. Patten began his experimental
work III the ocigination of new varieties
considerably in advance of Mr.. Bur
bank. HE IS a life-member of the Iowa
State horticultural society and also the
Minnesota and Wisconsin State Horti-
cultural socities. His seedlings have
received the Marshall 2. Wilder Silver
Medal for the finest collection of new
fruits, from the American Pomological
society of Kansas City, Missouri, in
1905, and again at the Jamestown ex-
position in 1907. This is the highest
award IF that national society and was
given for the largest collection of cross
bred and select seedlings ever shown in
the United States.
Mr., Patten planted in the spring of
1908 approximately ten thousand seeds
of cross-bred and selected apple, plum
and pear. He has, without doubt, the
largest experiment station of its kind
IN the United States and is conceded by
those who are acquainted with the
facts to be far in advance of aay other
one man in this work. His experiment
tai grounds cover approximately twenty
acres and are exclusively devoted to
this testing and originating work.
We are informed that a prominent
Minnesota hortieulturist states that
already one-third of the hardy varieties
Of apples recommended for the state
of Minnesota by the State Horticultural
society for general planting are OF Mr..
Patterns origination.
Mr. Patterns self-sacrihcing life
study of trees called forth a resolution
from the Ladies' Literary club of In
dependence, asking the state legisla-
ture and congress to give him financial
support.
Mr., Patterns first work along this
line was disappointment. IN 1870 he
planted the seeds from a barrel of Wis
consin bellhowers, but ignorance of
climatic conditions caused him to lose
1000 seedlings He next procured the
seed from a Duchess apple tree, which
stood near a Rhode Island greening,
and originated new species, which he
called Patterns gresnIng, now extern
sively raised and marketed in northern
Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
For years Mr.. Patten has band pol
lenized the apple and other fruit bios
SONS, then protected them from the
bees, so that other pollens could not
be brought to them. When the fruit
ripened he has saved the seed. marked
them with the name of the parents and
has planted the seeds with markers
besides them
II shall endeavor to have several
new plums next year, of the prune and
Japanese crosses, besides q multitude
of new ones coming on, " says Mr.. Pat
ten. Last year | made an immence
planting of pums, covering fully fifty
kinds and their crosses, out of which
we may expect many fine things.
have only begun with grapes and
peaches. Last fall / planted over 400
peach pits, mostly grown on protected
trees in Floyd county. Professor Beach
tells me they are the farthest north of
any unprotected trees that he knows OF
saying nothing of the older trees. |
planted last spring between 9. 700 TO
10, 900 selected and cross-bred apple
seeds, and have had excellent success
with them. have six or seven acres
densely packed with trees, besides the
experiments that are scattered over
twenty or more acres. Charles City
tiowa) Daily Press.