286 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



has this year excelled most other varieties in productiveness. The fruit is 

 of fair size and good quality. (Probably Mammoth, L. R. T.) 



Triumph (Western Triumph) is one of the varieties approved at the 

 west on account of hardiness. The plant is tall, rather upright, branch- 

 ing, although the fruit is of less than medium size, the deficiency is more 

 than compensated in productiveness. It must have good soil and culture 

 to produce marketable fruit. 



Wallace came to us from the west. The plant is vigorous and moder- 

 ately j)roductive. Fruit of large size and good quality. It is worthy of 

 more attention than it has heretofore received. 



Wilson and Wilson Jr. (the latter a seedling of the former) are for all 

 practical purposes identical. Both have, to a slight extent, the spreading 

 habit of the dewberry and, like it, will sometimes root, though reluctantly, 

 from the tips. Both are deficient in hardiness. Fruit large to very small, 

 and not of high quality. 



SERVICE BERRY.— (Amelanchier.) 



An indigenous form of this plant, forming a large bush or small tree,^ 

 occasionally from twelve to fifteen feet in height, is more or less dissemi- 

 nated in Michigan forests. It varies greatly in productiveness, as well as 

 in size and quality of fruit. So far as known, no attempts have been 

 made to subject this to cultivation. 



The dwarf variety, which was planted here as early as 1876, under the 

 name Service Berry, only tends, if left undisturbed, to form dense clumps,, 

 by means of underground branches or stolons, under which conditions it 

 becomes comparatively unproductive. When such tendency is prevented 

 by occasional transplanting, or otherwise, the result is a very considerable 

 improvement in size, as well as in quantity of fruit. 



Birds have a special liking for the fruit, which ripens in succession, and 

 invariably falls a prey to their rapacity, before full maturity. 



The bushes rarely exceed three feet in height, and the fruit, which 

 resembles the huckleberry, is by no means its equal in quality. 



Three varieties are on trial here. 



The first, lacking a varietal name, is designated as common. On a scale 

 of one to ten, it ranks, this year, about eight in productiveness. 

 . The second, received from Indiana as Mammoth, is slightly larger in 

 plant, and in productiveness ranks nine. 



The third is named " Success " by the recent chief of the Division of 

 Pomology at Washington. In productiveness it will rank ten. 



A few plants received a covering of netting, to protect the fruit from 

 the birds. This was applied on July 7, when the fruit began to color. 

 The fruit was gathered about July 18, fully ripe, and beautiful in appear- 

 ance, though, from lack of rich flavor, it can scarcely supersede the better 

 varieties of huckleberry, where such are obtainable. 



CURRANTS.— ('i^zbes.) 



The plantation of currants suffered more or less from the long contin- 

 ued drenching rains of the spring of 1892, although the most serious 

 injury arose from the cutting away of a large portion of the bearing wood, 

 in the effort to eradicate the twig borer (Aegeria tipuliformis, Linn. ) 

 which has long been extremely prevalent in this region. 



