JEFFERS TRIAL STATION. 2/3 



JEFFERS TRIAL STATION. 



DEWAIN COOK, SUPT. 



Fruit trees of all kinds grown here came through the past winter 

 in as good condition as usual ; there was no winter killing. 



Strawberries where the plants had been covered up came through 

 the winter in good condition and now promise a -fine crop of fruit. 



Red raspberries, except where they were grown in an extra pro- 

 tected place, were badly injured by the winter, and we expect only 

 a light crop of this fruit. 



The plum crop will be practically nothing ; we may get a few to 

 exhibit at our fair, but that will be all. While all varieties blos- 

 somed as fully as usual, we are satisfied, after a careful examination 

 of a great many blossoms when they first opened, that a large por- 

 tion of the fruit buds of most of our American varieties had been 

 injured by the winter, probably by the very cold weather of April, 

 which followed the unusually warm weather of March. A few 

 varieties apparently set for a good crop, but the blight or the plum 

 rot about finished them, brought on, no doubt, by too much cold 

 and rainy weather about the time the bloom began to drop from the 

 trees. This cause took most of them, while the plum pockets are 

 showing freely on trees that have a few plums left. 



Of apples and cr^bs the prospect is good for a large crop. This 

 includes about all the varieties that are usually productive here. 

 We are in hopes to harvest one thousand to twelve hundred buShels 

 of apples and crabs this season, provided the apple scab don't strike 

 us too hard. We have not discovered any apple tree blight, but we 

 have noticed some apple scab on the foliage of some of our apple 

 and crab trees. The blooming season of both the apple and plum 

 was nearly four weeks later than usual — some varieties of crabs 

 have some bunches of bloom upon them yet, June 19th. 



Plant an acre of Snyder blackberries next Spring. Let the plants 

 stand eight by eight feet. This will take 680 plants, worth about 

 $5. Give shallow cultivation, and sow grass seed over the whole 

 surface in September. Any time after the leaves fall in October, 

 cut off one-half the season's growth. This annual pruning is all the 

 care required for perhaps 10 or 15 years. The grass will grow up 

 and ripen and fall down, and the blackberry roots will grow as they 

 ought to, and will never be broken with cultivator or plow. This is 

 not the best way to raise blackberries, but probably the most profit- 

 ale way. M. Crawford. 



