124 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
the methods of protection practiced by me, commencing with bearing apple 
trees. Of these, I have about seventy trees, consisting of the Duchess and 
Wealthy; crabs, Early Strawberry, Briar’s Sweet, Transcendent, Orange 
and Whitney’s No. 20. My protection consists of a good mulch of old 
straw. No direct damage from the severity of the winter seemed apparent, 
yet as a result together with the continued severe cold in the spring, fol- 
lowed by a hail storm and frost about June Ist, about thirty of the above | 
named trees, that bore a heavy crop of fruit the season previous, blighted 
badly directly after the fruit was set, the Duchess being the most affected. 
Those that did not bear any fruit showed no sign of blight and made a good 
growth. 
Plum trees.—About thirty bearing trees received the same protection 
as the apples. Varieties: De Soto, Weaver and Rollingstone, all of which 
came through uninjured and all bore a very heavy crop, the largest in many 
years. About 150 apple and crab trees were planted in 1897-8, consisting of 
Duchess, Wealthy, Hibernal, Peerless, Patten’s Greening, Northwestern 
Greening, Longfield, Walbridge, Malinda, and Martha and Hyslop crabs, 
also fifty plum trees planted as above, consisting of Rollingstone, Cheney, 
De Soto, Hawkeye, Wolf and Stoddard. For protection a mound of earth 
around each tree just before freezing and about six or eight inches of coarse 
manure before freezing. Result— four Peerless and one Longfield root-killed, 
and the Wealthy, whilst no wood seemed to have been injured, made a very 
poor growth the past season; all others not in the least injured. All of the 
young plum trees named came through without injury, and all except For- 
est Garden bore fruit. Apple root-grafts one year with a good mulch came 
through uninjured. 
Grape vines, consisting of Brighton, Concord, Delaware, Agawam, Lady, 
Worden, Janesville and Moore’s Early were pruned and laid down about 
Nov. 1, and covered by ploughing a furrow from each side. They came 
through uninjured, except one Lady and one Delaware root-killed. All the 
others, about seventy, bore a heavy crop. 
Raspberries.—Cuthbert were laid down and a furrow turned over them. 
Result—about one hill in twenty had all the bearing wood killed, the others 
bore about half a crop. 
Strawberries.—About half an acre, consisting of the following varieties 
for trial, all in the hill system, planted three feet each way, and after setting 
their runners about six inches from parent plant, all runners afterwards cut 
off once a week: Parker Earle, Captain Jack, Haverland, Lady Thompson, 
Bissel, Edgar Queen, Wilson and Glen Mary. Covered about Nov. 20th 
with about two inches of straw; uncovered May 12; result, plants unin- 
jured. Lady Thompson, Glen Mary and Edgar Queen did well and gave a 
good crop of very large berries. The others above named did not do as 
well. 
About three-fourths of an acre in matted row, consisting of the above 
named and also Brandywine, Bederwood, Jessie, Enhance, Bubach, Warfield, 
and Crescent, covered and uncovered about the same times as above stated, 
and all came through uninjured and gave an immense crop except Parker 
Earle, Captain Jack, Bissel and Haverland. These four varieties, I shall 
discard. . Jessie, Warfield, Crescent, Enhance and Bederwood do the best 
with me in the order named. 
