g2 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



but the birds got the most of the fruit. We like the Snyder best. 



We have had no drouth the past season but, rather, too much 

 rain all the way through, heavy dews, I believe, every night and 

 some very hot weather — just the weather, we believe, favoring 

 the spread of fungous diseases and blight. 



W^e believe the apple and other fruit trees at this station are go- 

 ing into winter quarters in very good condition and that condi- 

 tions are favorable for a crop of fruit next season. Heavy late 

 rains have filled the sloughs and thoroughly soaked the ground. 



LA CRESCENT TRIAL STATION, ANNUAL REPORT. 



F. I. HARRIS, SUPT. 



A combination of circumstances has prevented me from at- 

 tending the society meetings during the past two years, and for 

 this reason, and a partial failure of crops, I could not muster 

 up enough enthusiasm to send in the regular reports. 



In looking over the reports from other stations I find that 

 my experience has been about the average, so will not go into 

 details at this late day. The greatest obstacle to successful 

 fruit growing so far encountered has been excessive and long 

 continued rainfall. These conditions were favorable for the 

 growth of fungous diseases and prevented effectual spraying, 

 and the results have been disastrous and discouraging. 



The season of 1905 was almost a duplicate of the two preced- 

 ing. A cold, backward spring, with continuous rains during the 

 spring and summer months, caused more than one-half the fruit 

 crop to drop before maturity, and the remainder was largely of 

 poor quality in the experimental orchard. This was notably 

 the result in the plum orchard, which bloomed in profusion but 

 failed to mature any perfect fruit. ( 



The crop of small fruit was below the average. Strawberries 

 commencing to ripen late ended at the usual time, so were a 

 short crop and of poor quality. The Senator Dunlap is the only 

 one of the newer varieties tested that proves worth general 

 cultivation. After two years fruiting on a variety of soils and 

 locations I have no hesitation in pronouncing it the best berry 

 for either home use or the market. This and the Warfield are 

 the leading varieties and are enough for the commercial grower. 

 Bederwood and Splendid are still popular for home use and 

 nearby market but too soft and light colored for shipping. A 

 number of others have been tried and foimd \vanting and have 

 been discarded. 



