CENTRAL TRIAL STATION. 27 1 



well. About 6,000 plums of selected varieties are also being held 

 over for planting out at the new plant-breeding farm. Besides these 

 seedlings we have a large number of very promising apple and plum 

 seedlings which will need more room next year. 



Last year's work with strawberries consisted largely of making 

 crosses between the hardier wild types from this vicinity and from 

 Alaska with the better cultivated kinds. These have been planted 

 out three by four feet apart for trial. We are doing further similar 

 crossing work at this writing. The raspberry and blackberry seed- 

 lings which were largely raised from crosses of various kinds have 

 done well, and we have several thousand plants that will be ready 

 to set in the open field in the course of a couple of weeks. They 

 are now growing in boxes, as we find that the safest way of handling 

 these seedlings that have cost so much labor. 



In the way of ornamental plants for distribution we have secured 

 a stock of seedlings of Alpine currant this year for the first time. 

 Although we have grown this very desirable shrub for twenty years 

 at University Farm, yet they never fruited until last season. It is 

 quite evident now that under right conditions it will produce seed in 

 abundance. We have now perhaps 6,000 seedlings of this which can 

 be distributed the coming year. 



Cotoneaster acutifolia is a valuable ornamental shrub, as the 

 foliage is brilliant and the plant is desirable for hedges and for 

 massing. We have secured quite a good stock of this plant and 

 shall probably be able to distribute 5,000 seedlings. 



The work in testing potatoes to determine those varieties that 

 are most immune to disease will be continued this year as well as 

 the experiments in spraying to determine its value. We have also 

 several kinds of seedling potatoes and imported "alcohol" potatoes, 

 which are of much interest in an experimental way. 



We have a good number of seedlings of apples, crabs, plums and 

 shrubs of various kinds growing in our seed bed which it is hardly 

 worth while to notice at this time, as it is too early to draw definite 

 conclusions as to what the outcome will be. Take it all together, 

 although the season has been backward, yet the conditions at this 

 writing are rather promising and should they continue favorable, 

 we will probably have nothing to complain of in the way of horti- 

 cultural crops. 



