NORTHWESTERN IOWA HORT. SOC’Y, ANNUAL MEEETING. 67 
the seed from parties growing the Siberian crab here, and to plant the 
same, and from the seedling’s obtain stock for grafting purposes. 
The following day in the morning, Prof. John Craig, of the Iowa State 
Experiment farm, took up the same subject of root-killing. His belief was 
the same as Proj. Hansen’s, but he thought we could overcome a good deal 
of root-killing by using short roots and long scions and mulching in the 
winter. To prove this Mr. Craig had samples of trees to show the differ- 
ence between short and long roots. The short root was dead, and the tree 
had formed roots on itself, whereas on long roots, both tree and root were 
dead. 
In the evening Prof. Craig spoke about hybridizing, showing a chart 
from bud to blossom, and fully explaining how it was done, and what could 
be accomplished in that line. Mr. Antisdel, of Fostoria, read a paper on 
“The Dark Side of Berry Culture, and What Varieties to Plant in. North- 
western Iowa.” 
Mr. Felter read a paper on “Grape Growing, Planting, Cultivating, 
Pruning and Protecting and Best and Hardiest Varieties for the North- 
west.” Prof. Greene showed different maps of Iowa, of the rainfall, the pos- 
sibilities of certain kinds of fruit growing by counties, and that outside of 
these districts it was of no use to try to raise peaches and pears, with the 
varieties we now have, for commercial purposes. 
Dec. 7th, in the forenoon, Mr. Edson Gaylord read a paper on blight. 
He said there are three different kinds of blight, and described all of them, 
and instructed how to prevent certain kinds of blight, also a remedy by 
spraying. 
Mr. Pearson spoke on ‘Plum Growing in the Northwest.” He said 
every farmer ought to have a plum orchard, and by securing the right kind 
of trees from a reliable nursery and giving them the same care as corn, they 
would have success. And by getting different varieties, one could extend 
the plum season for a month and a half. He spoke about growing seedlings 
from pits of the common wild plum and graiting the largest at one year old 
with our best cultivated kinds. The best, he said, on his ground were De- 
soto, Wyant, Wolf and Forest Garden. ‘ 
Joe Wood, from Windom, Minn., read a paper on plum growing. He 
said that he was not in the nursery business, but grew fruits for pleasure and 
homeuse. He said he had tried most all the known kinds in a small way, and 
fruited forty varieties this year, and found that if any one wanted to grow 
plums for market he should cut the list down to about seven or eight varie- 
ties. The best and largest on his grounds were De Soto, Wolf, Wood, 
Wyant. New Ulm, Ocheeda and Rollingstone. But those are not the only 
good kinds; there are others that may be just as good in different localities. 
He said there are many good kinds for an amateur to grow, like Hawkeye, 
Stoddard, Moon, Citey, Black Hawk and others, but only on a small scale. 
Mr. F. S. White, of Des Moines, read a good paper on “Growing and 
Saving Garden and Field Seeds.” 
In the afternoon of Dec. 7th there was a general discussion of what 
varieties to recommend for general planting. 
Strawberries—Bederwood, Warfield, Crescent were the favorites, but 
- others were mentioned. 
Plums—De Soto, Wolf, Wyant, Forest Garden, New Ulm; for Trial. 
Ocheeda, Hawkeye, Surprise and Stoddard. 
