VICE-PRESIDENT'S REPORT, FIFTH CONG. DIST. gi 



vation was at Mr. Shuman's, at Christmas Lake, where a very 

 satisfactory crop was harvested. 



Currants were a good crop and paid well where the currant 

 worms were carefully looked after. 



Gooseberries were a fair crop, but were somewhat affected by 

 the mildew unless they had been carefully sprayed with the Bor- 

 deaux mixture. 



As a whole, plums were a good crop, and prices satisfactory 

 for the best kinds — and it does not pay to grow any others. 



The Compass Cherry, which is much thought of by some, espe- 

 cially for canning and jelly, came near being a failure on account 

 of the late cold spell and the birds. 



Blackberries were a light crop, owing principally to drouth in 

 July, which injured them in size and quality as well as in quantity. 



APPLES. 

 During the month of August I visited a number of the best 

 orchards in this vicinity, to satisfy myself as to the crop prospects 

 and to learn what I could of the different methods of cultivation 

 and their success, and to> examine for myself some of the new seed- 

 lings of promise which are being brought before the public. 



First I visited the orchard of Mr. H. M. Lyman. I found the 

 orchard looking well and making a fine growth. The crop of 

 apples as a whole, was small, but many of the young trees were 

 heavily loaded with fruit—notably the Patten Greening, which the 

 owner afterwards told me netted him $1.50 per bushel in Minne- 

 apolis. Two loads brought $150.00 net cash. 



Mr. Lyman has a number of promising seedlings. Notable among 

 them is a red sweet, which promises to be hardy and is of fine 

 quality; he also has some late keeping seedlings that are attractive 

 both for size and quality. 



Next I visited the orchard of William Sarver. 'The young part 

 of this orchard was bearing well. The old trees, with here and 

 there an exception, were not full. Mr. Sarver is blind, but he has 

 not lost interest in his orchard. He has about 1,100 trees in a young 

 orchard that look very promising. His wife has the care of the 

 trees and selling of the fruit, and is a genial and wide-awake horti- 

 culturist. 



I also visited the orchard of Mr. F. J. Peterson, at Waconia. 

 His trees were well filled with fruit — much fuller than in any other 

 orchard I visited, but not so full as I have seen them before. Here 

 I also noted some fine seedling apples that promise much, and also 

 a tree of the Minnesota crab (so-called) that is one of the finest 



