314 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Elliot: Where did you find your best market? 



Mr. Dartt: Minneapolis was the best market I had, unless 

 it was Fargo or Grand Forks. I sold some up there, and they 

 paid me a little better than Minneapolis after the first ship- 

 ments; they sold for pretty nearly $4.0U per barrel. In a week 

 the market dropped right down to |2.00, and then to |1.50, and 

 then to such a low price it would not pay to ship at all. The 

 Fargo market was very good; at first they netted me over 12.00 

 per barrel, and then the market flattened out. 



SOMETHING ABOUT THE TREES NEAR MY HOME. 



MISS MARTHA DENISON, MINN. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. 



The one feature which we first notice about a place is its trees. 

 There is something' about them which adds very much to the ap- 

 pearance, making- a place more attractive and more homelike. Is 

 there any home more lonely or more desolate than the one where 

 there are no trees? 



We first think of them from an ornamental point of view, without 

 considering the purpose each one serves, and it is only by study of 

 the different trees that we are able to appreciate their true value. 



During the hot summer we find the trees a great comfort in pro- 

 tecting us from the hot rays of the sun, and if planted close enough 

 together they serve to break the effect of the warm winds. During 

 winter, or when it is colder, a shelter belt of trees is found a great 

 benefit as a protection from the cold northwest winds and also in 

 keeping the snow from drifting near the buildings. 



Near my home, in Rice county, the soft maple and the white wil- 

 low are used generally for shelter belts, but occasionally we find 

 the white pine, Norway pine and Scotch pine used for this purpose, 

 or, perhaps, the white spruce to a limited extent. 



The soft maple is grown quite extensively, the principal reason 

 being that it grows very easily from seed which matures in the early 

 summer, and if planted that year quite a growth will be made dur- 

 ing the season. It is a desirable tree because of it rapid growth, 

 but there is also an objection because of its being easily broken by 

 the wind, and it is apt to sunscald if not properly protected. As an or- 

 namental tree it is used but very little compared with the sugar 

 maple, which, although it grows very slowly, takes on a much more 

 beautiful form than the soft maple, and in autumn the leaves are 

 brilliantly colored, making a fine effect. The wood of both varieties 

 is valuable as fuel and is used a great deal in the interior finishing 

 of houses. The sugar maple is also used in the manufacture of fur- 

 niture and for'flooring. Maple sugar is obtained from both the soft 

 maple and the sugar maple. 



The white willow makes a rapid growth and is a desirable tree 

 for a windbreak. It is usually propagated by cuttings, which grow 

 readily. It does not form a very beautiful tree, as it is rather 

 spreading, but where there are several together, with their straight, 

 uniform branches, the effect is quite pleasing. 



