vice-president's report, fifth CONG. DISTRICT. 69 



Warfield, Bederwood and Splendid are doing best. Gooseberries 

 and currants very light. 



The tender varieties of apples, including Ben Davis and North- 

 western Greening, were badly injured by the severe winter. The 

 Wealthy, Duchess, Hibernal and Peerless bore good crops. Plums 

 were very good, but rotted to some extent. The prospects for next 

 season's crop are good. 



Eden Prairie reports a large apple crop, the Wealthy being the 

 heaviest yielder. Very little blight and mildew manifested itself 

 this year. All pear trees were killed to the ground, except Besa- 

 mianka, which came through the winter without injury. 



Plums generally were a fair crop, the De Soto being the best. 

 Many of the Domestica were killed last winter. The Chickasaw 

 were about as hardy as the Americana. Many varieties of cherries 

 were injured or killed. Some varieties of shrubs supposed to be 

 hardy were killed by the severe weather. The Japan walnut seems 

 to be hardy. The black walnut may be relied upon as a useful and 

 ornamental tree. From one tree seven bushels of walnuts were 

 gathered. The shellbark hickory, although slow growing, is always 

 satisfactory. The buckeye, or horse-chestnut, is one of the hardy 

 trees to be relied upon. 



Mr. Merritt : You say your cherry trees were winter-killed ; 

 did you notice the year before anything like a yellow leaf, the leaf 

 turning yellow and falling off early in the season? That is the way 

 my orchard commenced to kill out, the leaves turning yellow early 

 in the season and falling off. 



Mr. Wright : I am not a cherry grower myself, I have only 

 two trees, and the information regarding cherries I gave in my 

 paper I gleaned from neighbors. I am not a large fruit grower in 

 the apple line. I gained my information from other fruit growers 

 and can therefore not answer that question myself. 



Mr. Williams : In looking over your neighbors' orchards did 

 you find any that were planted on sandy soil? 



Mr. Wright : No, I do not know that I did. We have no sandy 

 soil in our locality, and I did not ask the question with reference 

 to that point. 



Mr. Williams : I would like to ask whether there is any horti- 

 culturist here who has had experience in planting apple trees on 

 sandy soil? 



Mr. S. D. Richardson : At Madelia there is an apple orchard 

 planted on sandy soil that is very fine. 



