286 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



large number of varieties that I have myself tested on mj own responsi- 

 bility, very thoroughly. They are introduced because they may produce 

 different results here. Something like this is the policy that has so far 

 been pursued, and the grounds are now pretty nearly filled with varieties. 

 There are comparatively few vacancies yet to be filled, and hereafter 

 unless the territory can be extended, it will become necessary, if new 

 varieties are to be introduced, to do it by regrafting. I regret that I feel 

 obliged to say, as intimated by Mr. Morrill, that a very large proportion, 

 particularly in the case of peaches (I think I can safely say that fully 

 one-half), the varieties that have been obtained from supposed reliable 

 establishments, have proved to be spurious. I suppose it may be pos- 

 sible to cut these back severely in the spring for the purpose of forcing 

 out young shoots, upon which other varieties can be budded. You all 

 understand grafting peaches proves impracticable in this climate. 



IN THE MATTER OP TESTING STRAWBERRIES 



I presume that very few of us have failed to recognize the circumstance 

 that few, if any, of our varieties have lasted more than a few years, and 

 when in season have tested satisfactorily, but they soon seem to run out ; 

 Ihey early become a prey of insects or fungi. What may be the reason 

 for this I presume has not been determined. I have very frequently 

 heard the remark that sometimes we find, among our strawberries, plants 

 that produce plenty of runners, but very little, if any, fruit. That is per- 

 haps a problem that might be worked out by such a station as this. It 

 has appeared to be quite desirable that experiments should be instituted 

 intelligently for the purpose of determining the effect of various pro- 

 cesses in securing the continuation of one kind, instead of being obliged 

 to accept something new and untried. I suppose a great many persons 

 can recall the introduction of the Wilson, which continued before the 

 public thirty or forty years, if not more, and even now popular with some 

 persons, while other varieties, like the Haverland, well received and 

 popular for a time, and even yet perhaps, though less than ten or fifteen 

 years old, have begun to show signs of failure, and we are looking for 

 something still newer to take their place. Now, it would be a very desir- 

 able thing to learn just why this is the case, and whether it is possible to 

 secure the permanency of varieties which we consider valuable. 



Perhaps some of us will recollect the time when there was a very 

 earnest competition through the press respecting strawberries; there 

 were those in my recollection that held the idea that there was no such 

 thing as an imperfect strawberry blossom, that they were all perfect. 

 Today we recognize the fact that we have pistillate varieties, and those 

 that are bisexual. Why this is the case may not be generally under- 

 stood, may not be generally accepted as a settled fact. I recollect that 

 soon after I came to this place, about twenty years ago, Mr. Hathaway, 

 of Little Prairie Eonde, introduced some very good varieties of straw- 

 berries, using the Virginia Scarlet, fertilized others, and followed up that 

 process from time to time, until quite recently anyone visiting his place 

 and looking over his seedlings, which he grows by the thousands, will 

 find that there is a strain of varieties with perfect similarity in certain 

 respects. This he persistently carried out until he secured a family 



