SECRETARY S CORNER 159 



Encouraging Reports from the Northwest Territory. — A late 

 communication from H. Anticknap, Regina, N. W. T., speaks encouragingly 

 of the success of small fruits in that region. He says "I had very good success 

 with my garden of small fruits this year. Strawberries were excellent, Sen- 

 ator Dunlap leading, although the Clyde is a good one. The greatest draw- 

 back to young trees is the jack rabbit. They are by the hundreds. I tried 

 washing last winter but when the snow gets to be deep, they strip every limb 

 off the trees. The Balm of Gilead is taking the lead as a shelter belt tree, as 

 they will stand all kinds of hard usage. The Cottonwood I find dries out 

 when the grass gets among them. 



Secretary of Wisconsin Society. — Frederick Cranefield, secretary of 

 the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society, visited with us a number of hours 

 on March 23rd, and we swapped experiences to our mutual benefit and pleas- 

 ure. Mr. Cranefield is a young man, whose training as assistant horticulturist 

 connected with the Wisconsin Experiment Station peculiarly fits him to do 

 good work in the position he now occupies. He is giving special attention to 

 the care of a number of experiment orchards which the society is conducting 

 in different parts of the state, with the purpose of learning what varieties of 

 fruit are adapted to these Various localities. He brings to the work of the 

 society, youth, ambition and training, which should make his services of spe- 

 cial worth to that association. 



Plant Premiums. — The plant premiums offered to our membership will 

 be sent out sometime in April, probably in the neighborhood of the 15th or 

 20th. As most of the plants are mailing size, they are necessarily small and 

 the roots are, in the main, made up of small fibres. This will necessitate 

 special care in handling and planting to insure success. When received, if at 

 all dry, it will be well to soak them in water or thin mud for a day or two, and 

 in planting, use fine loam about the roots, well pressed down, with a little 

 water if necessary, and shade for a few days. Root grafts should be planted 

 so that only one bud shows above ground, and earth firmed very solidly about 

 them, not only at the top of the ground, but their whole length. A good many 

 root-grafts are lost by being planted to shallow. 



Budded Pyrus Baccata Trees for Experiment. —It is the purpose this 

 spring to send out to the various trial stations a dozen or more trees of stand- 

 ard varieties, budded at the crown on Pyrus baccata seedlings, for the pur- 

 pose of testing their value in this climate as orchard trees. The plan is to have 

 them all planted and cared for under similiar conditions, in the hopes of get- 

 ting definite results from the experiment that will be of general value. These 

 trees are to be furnished by the central station, and as they have quite a quan- 

 tity on hand we understand any person can secnre a few for experimental pur- 

 poses on the paj'ment of twenty cents each. Address Prof. S. B. Green, St. 

 Anthony Park, for them. It is hoped that a large number will take part in 

 this experimental planting, which gives much promise of valuable practical 

 results. 



Deaths in our Membership. — Information has recently come to me of 

 the death of Mrs. A. A. Kennedy who, I understand, had removed within a 

 year or two to Colorado and died there. Mrs. Kennedy was for many years 

 one of the vice-presidents of the society and, until within two or three years, 

 for a long period, a regular attendant at our annual meetings. She was not 



