180 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



search for the North Pole than Prof. Hansen is showing in his 

 search for the hardy root for the prairie apple tree. The station 

 on the prairie at Brookings seems destined to become a sort of 

 Mecca to which the prairie planter will ever turn to express his 

 debt of gratitude. 



The discussion on strawberries was led by Henry Hess, of Ver- 

 million. He manures heavily, plows deep, cultivates often and after 

 every shower. Keeps cultivator going until October. Covers 

 with clean straw, removes it in the spring, cultivates and irrigates. 

 He sets two rows of pistillates to one row of staminates. 



Mr. Geo. H. Whiting, of Yankton, sets his strawberries in rows 

 three feet eight inches apart. The second year he plows the ground 

 away from the rows and levels with a cultivator. He mulches with 

 stable litter after the ground freezes. President Avery uses clean 

 straw for mulching. Mr. Soderberg, of Sioux Falls, uses rotted 

 marsh hay. Prof. Hansen reported that he was growing eight 

 thousand varieties of strawberries, mostly seedlings. He says: 

 "Strawberries need much water." 



In the discussion of the bush fruits, Mr. Harrington, of Sioux 

 Falls, recommended the North Star currant for its "very rampant 

 growth." The Houghton is still the best gooseberry with Hansen 

 and Whiting. The Pearl is doing very well at the trial station at 

 Brookings. Mr. Whiting arms himself with gloves and picks his 

 gooseberries into a large dish-pan, leaves and all. He then runs 

 them through a fanning mill to clean them. L. E. Hanson, of Vi- 

 borg, is having good success in growing the native gooseberry. 



E. D. Cowles, of Vermillion, reported that strawberries were do- 

 ing well with him, but that the raspberry was a failure. Currants 

 must be grown upon a north slope or else be mulched. He will in 

 the future put his currants in his orchard. Gooseberries must be 

 under trees. He is afraid of the Crandall currant, but speaks high- 

 ly of the Russian oleaster as a hedge plant. The Juneberry does 

 well, but the birds take all the fruit. The buffalo berry does well 

 with him. The Rocky Mountain cherry is not so good as the South 

 Dakota sand cherry. At Vermillion it blights. 



Prof. Hansen reported that he had five hundred sand cherries 

 in bearing. They are at home on dry upland prairie. He has 

 great faith in its future. The sand cherry requires dry, arid land. 

 Up among the sand hills of Nebraska they think sand cherry sauce 

 delicious. The land in the foot hills, where the sand cherries do 

 the best, is stony and gravely. The professor says he has tested 

 five thousand varieties of sand cherries by tasting. He used to 



