138 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



LAST YEAR'S WORK AT THE STATION. 



BY EX-PRES. T. T. LYON OF SOUTH HAVEN. 



It was not the intention, when the station was established, that its 

 results should be secured by means of high culture and manuring, but by 

 fair, average treatment in both respects, such treatment as the trees and 

 plants would have among good growers in general, and we drop all varie- 

 ties that do not thrive under such conditions. 



The result with the small fruits, last season, was not most satisfactory, 

 because of cold wet weather, followed by drouth. The currants have been 

 infested by an insect that is not troublesome in the state at large, the twig 

 borer, necessitating the cutting of much wood, and so the plantation has 

 not been satisfactory. Mildew has made the gooseberries equally so until 

 recently. Bordeaux mixture has been used freely, with marked success. 

 We have had anthracnose of grape, blackberry, and raspberry, but in all 

 three the Bordeaux mixture has been efficacious. Use of liver of sulphur 

 upon gooseberries has made it possible to grow even some of the European 

 varieties. 



I concede the correctness of Mr. Kellogg's position, as to the culture of 

 strawberries, on the whole, but we have not tried to go beyond the limit 

 of average culture. There are over 200 varieties of strawberry on the 

 place. This year, for the first time, we kept over a plat, so as to compare 

 results of one and two-year plantations. Record was kept of both hill and 

 matted-row culture of each variety, so as to make comparison of results in 

 both treatments. 



We have a quite large number of varieties of cherry, but are not yet 

 able to speak definitely of the value of the new varieties for general culture. 



Peaches take the most prominent position, because, perhaps, we are in 

 the peach region. Most growers have no conception of the large number 

 of local varieties of the peach existing everywhere in the state. We plant 

 two trees of each kind. We find some very promising new varieties, but 

 it takes more than two years to decide what are of real value. 



There are a number of varieties of the sweet cherry, which is not gen- 

 erally regarded as hardy. Although it is not likely that the sweet varie- 

 ties will ever become prominent in the market, there are some which 

 promise to do so. 



In testing plums we have to contend with the curculio, fungus, and rot. 

 A number of the Americana and Chicasaw varieties are beginning to bear. 

 The curculio works upon these as it does upon the domestic varieties, but 

 in many cases the larvae fail to develop. So far, therefore, these seem to 

 be exempt, but none of them are equal to the domestic varieties, or in 

 any way valuable. We are also testing some of the Japanese varieties, 

 and some of them, likely, would have borne last year but for the May 

 blizzard, when the bloom was killed. They bloom early, so are not likely 

 to bear regularly. I can not advise the planting of them beyond the 

 experimental degree. Several of them are very early, ripening by middle 

 of July. But they lack in quality, even the best of them. 



