vice-president's report, eighth CONG. DIST. 77 



Crescent seedling did splendidly. We had a good crop of fruit on 

 strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries. One man 

 sold $325 worth of apples from a small orchard, and another one 

 about the same amount. No blight here last year. 



One postmaster handed the list to an agent who was selling- 

 trees there. The agent wrote to me that he would send me an 

 order list with the varieties marked that they recommended for 

 Minnesota. I did not get much information from this that would 

 be of use to me in making out my report. 



One returned the list of questions with a few lines on the back 

 of the sheet saying that he did not know whom to refer me to, 

 unless it would be some farmer, but he did not send me any name. 

 The others did not' take trouble to answer. 



It will take a good deal of talking and writing to get the people 

 generally of the northern part of the state to take interest enough 

 in the fruit question to inform themselves as to what is being done in 

 this section of the state. 



At Grand Rapids, Itasca Co., I found that the fruit trees set 

 out the year before were many of them killed, though older apple 

 and plum trees were not injured much, and they were mostly well 

 loaded with fruit. I saw some plum trees that the branches were 

 so heavy with plums that they were propped up to keep them from 

 breaking. I told the parties that they should have thinned the fruit, 

 and the balance would have been much larger and finer, and it would 

 not have exhausted the tree so much. There was a fine crop of 

 small fruit, especially of strawberries. The gardeners there are 

 beginning to set out more small fruit. I was told that one man 

 sold about $1,200 worth of strawberries this season. 



In St. Louis county the older apple and plum trees were not in- 

 jured, and where they were well taken care of they gave generous 

 returns. Cherry trees were hurt a good deal, some killed. Many 

 of the small trees were killed, others injured. I set out a year ago 

 last spring a few trees in the garden, two Wealthy, two Duchess, 

 two Tetofsky, two Whitney, one Cheney plum, one Forest Garden 

 plum, one Early Richmond cherry and one Ostheim cherry. Last 

 spring I found the Duchess and one Whitney apple alive, the others 

 dead. Both cherries were dead. Plums leaved out but died in the 

 summer. I usually wrap the fruit trees, also ornamental trees and 

 shrubs, the first winter after they are set out; but last fall I was 

 away until late and neglected to- do it. Fine crop of small fruit of 

 all kinds. Some of you had a chance to see and sample some of 

 the strawberries raised here at the exposition at St. Louis last 

 summer. 



The early settlers in the northern part of the state thought they 

 were so far north that it was useless to think of having much fruit. 

 A few of them did set out some currants. I found it difficult tr 

 persuade them to set out a few trees, and those would be mostly 

 Transcendent and Hyslop crabs. 



