STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 89 



tsees, he thinks the new growth will be sufficient in strength to 

 support a crop, as they supported such un exceediniifly heavy sleet 

 last winter, also in tlie spring, without much ilamage; certainly 

 heavier than anv possible crop of fruit would be. 



Strawberries brought from 812.000 to §18,0()(» in cash to this 

 place last summer under the most unfavorable circumstances. 

 Rerries from Mississipjii. Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and from 

 A'illa Ridge to ( 'entralia. were on the Chicago market on the siime 

 day; something unknown before and not very likely to happen 

 again. I do not think that ten, twenty or forty-acre beds of berries 

 will ])av. The general farmer has no business with more than 

 from one to four acres, V)ut as a variety of crops and producing 

 cash when badly needed, it is of great advantage, and think the 

 future will witness little diminution of the present acreage. 



At Centralia Mr. J. Webster's views of the past season may be 

 summed up as follows: The past season has been a very unfavor- 

 able one here, as elsewhere, for fruit-growers. The strawberry crop 

 was a large one, and although it paid better than the preceding one, 

 the net returns, after picking and boxes were paid for, was very 

 small. I heard of no one losing, neither did I hear of any one 

 coming out much ahead. Many growers quit picking, on account of 

 the low prices, too soon: others because they could not get boxes. 

 The proprietor of the box factory here had all the mill men bound 

 by a contract not to sell boxes to anybody but himself in this local- 

 ity, and as he could not make boxes fast enough, those who did not 

 take the precaution to supply themselves beforehand could not obtain 

 any. It was estiuuited that at least five more cars could have been 

 shipped could boxes have been obtained. To prevent this happening 

 in the future a Fruit Package Association has been formed by the 

 growers in this vicinity. As to varieties the Crescent still holds 

 its own, none of the recently introduced varieties have created a 

 revolution here as yet. Miner's Prolific is the principal variety used 

 as a fertilizer, some, however, are using the Wilson. WarfiehVs No. 

 2, which originated near here, I think, will prove to be a valuable 

 shipping berry. Pilackberries were almost ruined by the drouth, the 

 Harly Harvest, however, matured most of its crop before the dry 

 weather set in; Taylor set an immense crop, but, where not well 

 mulched, failed to bring it to maturity. 



Early a])))les were of fine quality, and paid reasonably well; all 

 varieties promised to yield a large crop until about the 10th of July, 

 when the drouth, coupled with insects and frequent wind storms, so 

 destroyed the croi) that not one barrel was marketed where a hundred 

 should have been. The same may be said of pears. 



The prospect for strawberries next year is nearly up to the aver- 

 age of the past season. Some of the new patches are extra fine, 

 many of the old ones that have been cultivated promise to yield as 

 much next year as they have this, others that have had no cultivation 



