REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 295 



At the June meeting the society had a very fine exhibit of strawberries, cher- 

 ries and flowers. This time the Manchester made the best impression. The 

 exhibits of this variety were extraordinarily fine. The Woodruff strawberry 

 continued to make and hold friends. It is now considered our best canning 

 berry, especially where the Wilson fails. 



All the small fruits received a good deal of attention in their season. The 

 Gregg is still the leading black cap, and the Cuthbert the best red raspberry. 

 The Marlborough is favorably mentioned for size, color and productiveness. 

 It has not yet fruited enough here to determine its earliness. 



Growing small fruits as a business was voted as no longer profitable. 



The county and State fairs have been discussed considerably both before and 

 after the fairs, as relating to the fruit exhibits. The society always takes a 

 lively interest in the fairs and encourages the promotion of fruit exhibits. 



In our monthly meetings we aim to keep up the showing of fruits and flowers 

 in season, and this part of the doings often forms a prominent feature of the 

 meetings. The proceedings of our meetings are promptly furnished to the 

 county press by our live corresponding secretary, Prof. Baur, and are often 

 published in the German papers also. The city and county residents alike- 

 take an interest in reading these reports, and they are eagerly sought as soon 

 as published. It is pleasing to observe that horticultural literature is largely 

 read by both the city and county people and that the work of our society, 

 which is largely of a missionary character, is appreciated. 



The list of our members is not as large as we desire, though we keep adding. 

 Many content themselves by reading the reports. 



The society is fortunate in having a free room furnished by the board of 

 supervisors in the court house. The room is heated by steam, without expense 

 to the society. 



The various fruit crops, ripening from June to October, were all good. It 

 was remarkable to note that the unprecedented drought in the history of the 

 State did so little damage to our fruits. The quality, on that account, was 

 superior. Although the berry crop was somewhat cut short by the drought, 

 the daily shipments made from Ann Arbor were very large. As high as 250 

 bushels of raspberries were shipped from here by express in one day in the 

 height of the season. Besides these a large amount was daily consumed here 

 in the city. Of strawberries, several thousand dollars' worth were shipped in to 

 Ann Arbor from outside places. These were inferior to those raised about 

 here. Our own were largely shipped to Detroit. Home prices ruled alike for 

 strawberries and raspberries, from 8 to 10 cents per quart was paid. Returns 

 from shipments often proved to be no more than to cover cost for picking and 

 selling, including freight. 



Early in the spring we were hopeful of a full crop of peaches, though 

 as the blossoms faded away it was discovered that the Crawfords did not 

 set well; the blossoms proved false. The winter was a little too severe for 

 these sorts. This reduced our peach crop considerably, as the Crawfords 

 are the most extensively planted. The oldest trees which had gone through 

 the three consecutive cold winters, died outright. The younger trees pulled 

 through and bore light crops. This applies to the Crawfords mainly. Hill's 

 Chili, Barnard, and most of the prominent white fleshed peaches, bore full 

 crops. The home price for peaches ranged from $1.50 to $3.50 per bushel. 

 Some extra fine Early Crawfords sold as high as $3.00 per bushel. Among the 

 newer sorts, Snow's Orange deserves special mention. It fruited here for the 



