The observations of the past thirty years on the prairies west of Lake Michigan sustain the proposition that the varieties of the orchard fruits vary in hardiness of fruit buds and blossoms quite as much as they do in relative hardiness of tree. The proposition can also be sustained that the typical Ironclad tree has hardier fruit buds and blossoms than the one that poorly withstands our trying changes of summer and winter. With the apple this is well illustrated in watching the behavior of such Ironclads as the Blushed Calville, Anisette, Duchess, Borovinca, Hibernal, Recumbent, Anis, Ostrokoff, and many others from the steppes of east Europe.

During our trying summers they retain clean, healthy foliage and in early autumn ripen their leaves and points of growth prior to the advent of severe frosts as do our native forest trees.