EUREKA TRIAL STATION. 85 



to the bountiful rain-fall in May and the early part of June. 

 Blackberries bore a light crop on account of the drouth in July and 

 August. 



The grapes came out in fine shape and bore a good crop. Moore's 

 Early were the first to ripen; we began picking them August 20th. 

 Delaware were ripe September Ist, were quite free from mildew, and 

 the little white hopper was not nearly so bad on them as the year 

 previous. 



Plums blossomed full, but the curculio stung nearly every plum, 

 and they dropped off. They were a very light crop and brought 

 $2.00 per bushel. 



Apples were a light crop, and most of them were knotty and ill- 

 shaped. Where they were sprayed thoroughly, they were a much 

 better crop and were nice and smooth. It pays to spray the apple 

 trees. Wealthy apples brought from $1.00 to $1.50 per bushel and 

 were one of the best paj'ing crops in the state. The Campbell's 

 Early and Alice grapes made a good growth but did not fruit any 

 this season. 



LA CRESCENT TRIAL STATION. 



J. S. HARRIS, SUPT. 



The following, a continuation of the midsummer report published 

 in the magazine for August, 1898, page 286, which includes the fruit- 

 ing of the strawberries and well into the raspberry harvest, also 

 gooseberries and currants. The blackberry crop, which at the date 

 of last report promised to be very abundant, turned out to be almost 

 a total failure. They appeared to be all right until a few berries 

 had developed and begun to ripen, when the bulk of the fruit ceased 

 to grow and dried up or dropped prematurely, scarcely enough 

 maturing to satisfy the birds. I am unable to determine the cause, 

 but think it is some fungous disease that struck the fruit suddenly. 

 The plantation is on deep, rich, valley soil. The plants had not 

 been unusually severely cut back in the growing season of the 

 previous year. Only a portion of them were given winter protec- 

 tion, and they proved no better than those left without any 

 protection. The plants have made a vigorous growth this season 

 and appear to be healthy and well ripened. 



Plums with us were a light crop, and the fruit of poorer quality 

 than usual. As with most varieties, the greater part of the fruit 

 dropped before half grown. The failure is largely attributed to 

 imperfect fertilization. No bees are kept on or within one mile of 

 the place, and other beneficial insects that work on the bloom were 

 unusually scarce at that period. 



The season was an unusually good one for cherries, and a number 

 of the trees furnished us from the state station, and set in the spring 

 of 1896, brought considerable fine fruit, the Wragg and English 

 Morella bearing better thar the Early Richmond and Montmorency. 



The grape crop was unusually large, not only with us but in the 

 vicinity, and the quality was better than the average. No frost 

 occurred to injure the foliage before October 15, and even the latest 



