A VISIT TO MANITOBA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 389 



with very much the same protection given them in our own state 

 and bear well, except that the strawberry crop is often cut off by 

 late spring frosts. Loss in the strawberry yield from this source 

 is common, we learned at various points in our journey, and they 

 have evidently not tested the art of covering the strawberry vines 

 with straw at the appearance of a frosty night to protect the blos- 

 soms. As to apples, though some varieties have been put in at 

 Indian Head, we found nothing of value except Pyrus baccata 

 seedlings and some crosses of the Pyrus baccata with hardy varie- 

 ties of the common apples, the trees growing having been sent out 

 from the central experiment station at Ontario. These crosses all 

 show a predominance of the crab, and as far as we can judge are 

 hardy, although the fruit in all cases is small and does not promise 



1905 

 Residence of superintendent of Indian Head, Assa., Experiment Station in 1905. 



large value where crabs oi such varieties as the Transcendent can 

 be grown. Some varieties of Americana pkmis were noticed in 

 fruiting and among them two or three trees of the Weaver that 

 were bearing a very full crop. As a rule, the Americana plum is 

 too late to ripen its fruit there ahead of the early fall frosts. The 

 plums that succeed best in that region are the Manitoba native, or 

 Prunus nigra. 



Of ornamental shrubbery there is quite a large variety that seems 

 to thrive in that region. Nearly all of the lilacs ; the caragana, 

 which, by the way, is much used for hedges and even shelter belts, 

 as exemplified at the station in a number of places ; the dwarf cara- 

 gana; many of the honeysuckles, especially the Tartarian varie- 

 ties, the barberries, many of the spireas, etc. ; the cotoneaster is a 



