ANNUAL REPORT^ I906, VICE-PRES., SIXTH CONG. DIST. I43 



always cut out. It is not surprising if trees in this condition are 

 finally ruined. 



In the line of spraying very little comparatively is done. Some 

 of the largest growers do spray their trees and seem to have done 

 so with good results, but the majority do not. Yet as the insect 

 pest is on the increase from year to year, spraying will become a 

 necessity. 



As I have stated above, our well-tried fruit trees did not suffer 

 from the cold of last winter. Most trees and shrubs held their 

 leaves on very late, and although the winter was not excessively 

 cold yet the prevailing conditions caused some damage. The latter 

 part of February was warm, and most of the snow melted ; then 

 March came in very cold, forming an ice crust over plants and 

 around trees, causing the bark just above ground of some varieties 

 to peel off, and thereby killing many of the young trees and small 

 fruit plants which were not protected by a good mulch. I have a 

 young orchard of thirty varieties of apples planted three years ago. 

 Of these, twelve varieties were killed as indicated, and the other 

 eighteen varieties, standing in the same rows and enduring the same 

 conditions, came out all right in spring. The varieties killed were : 

 Northwestern Greening, Red Queen, Lead apple, Avista, Russian 

 Borsdorfer, Wolf Seedling, Zolotoreff, Beechers Sweet, Little Seed- 

 ling, Sweet Russet, Kaumps Seedling and Sweet Pear. The Long- 

 field, University, Red Astrachan and Wolf River have also suf- 

 fered some, and many trees unprotected have been sunscalded. 



In my cherry orchard of a hundred trees I have a variety from 

 Wisconsin — I do not know the name — that mildewed last year very 

 badly; later on the leaves turned yellow and dropped off early in 

 the season. This spring these trees were nearly dead. The other 

 varieties in the same orchard did not suffer. But the greatest in- 

 jury was done to the small fruit plants, as strawberries, raspberries 

 and blackberries. Nearly all varieties suffered or were winter-killed 

 in most locations by thawing and hard freezing toward spring, where 

 they had not been well protected. This was one of the worst win- 

 ters I remember on small fruits, shrubs and perennial plants. Dur- 

 ing the past season fruit trees and plants have made a very good 

 growth and ripened their wood well this fall ; the rainfall was abund- 

 ant, and hence the future outlook is bright and promising to the 

 horticulturist. 



For a short list of varieties of all kinds of fruits, hardy peren- 

 nal flowers and ornamental shrubs I select only those, which, of 

 course, with proper care, do well through our district. 



