INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 457 



raising of first-class small fruits. Laporte and vicinity shipped about 

 5,000 cases this season to Chicago, besides supplying the local market. All 

 along the lake region a great many berries are raised. Furnessville, 

 Chesterton, Lake and many other places ship large quantities of straw- 

 berries to Chicago. The orchards of this district are badly neglected. 



H. W. HENRY. 



RErORT OF J. C. GROSSMAN, VICE-PRESIDENT OF TWELFTH 



DISTRICT. 



The sea.son of 1903 opened with bright prospects for the fruit grower, 

 but the late, cold spring and the severe freezes the first week of May 

 changed those prospects, for some, to one of disaster. 



Apples, pears, cherries, peaches and plums and also the small fruits, 

 were more or less injured at that time, owing somewhat to location and 

 other conditions. Yet there was a fair crop of apples in the district. 

 Late blooming varieties and orchards on low, heavy soil seemed in many 

 places to have escaped the frost entirely. Pears and cherries were almost 

 a complete failure. Peaches seemed to have received most of their injury 

 to the fruit buds early in the winter. Japan plums were in full bloom at 

 time of freeze and consequently were a complete failure. 



Varieties of the Damsons, German prunes, etc., in many places were 

 never fuller or of better quality. 



Of small fruits, currants and gooseberries were not over one-fourth or 

 one-fifth of a crop. 



Raspberries and blackberries, where the canes were healthy and well 

 cared for, were a good crop. 



Strawberries, the crop that is grown and depended upon by the farmer 

 and fruit grower for the money, there is in it, more than any other fruit 

 crop in the district, was above the average with those growers who 

 mulched heavy and left the mulch on late; others who did not mulch or 

 unoovorcd early had their crop damaged from 25 to 75 per cent., according 

 to conditions. 



Prices on small fruits were higher than for many years and fruit of all 

 kinds in heavy demand. 



There were a good many second-crop strawberries again this year. 

 Nick Ohmer's that bore a fair crop of fruit in fall of 1002, bore a good 

 crop again in .Tune, and were bearing again this fall. I do not think the 

 crop was lessened any by the fruit they bore last fall. 



Plantings of fruit remain about normal; if anything It is on. the in- 

 crease. 



Farmers do not seem to care to bother much with more orchard than 

 just what they need for their family use. There are a few exceptions, 

 however, and In the future we will hear from them. 



