130 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and wet weather fully 50 per cent of a full crop was harvested. 

 One thousand bushels of marketable fruit were gathered, be- 

 sides enough culls to make seventeen barrels of cider and vine- 

 gar, and the quality was much improved over last season's, about 

 two-thirds grading No. i. These results are largely attributed, 

 first, to spraying and, second, to judicious pruning and thinning. 

 Of varieties the Wealthy leads in both yield and quality and 

 proves the best variety for the commercial orchard. Duchess 

 were also good and Okabena and Patten Greening, but Peerless 

 was not up to expectations. In all over one hundred varieties 

 fruited, many for the first time, and of the latter some are very 

 promising and others not worth growing. Among the better 

 class are Allen's Favorite, a large, handsome, late fall apple of 

 good quality ; Philips No. i ; Miller No. 2 ; Douglas No. 2 and 3 ; 

 Fosburg; Enormous; Daisy; Gipsy Girl; Gilbert and Nelson. 

 I had the privilege of viewing the original Nelson tree last winter 

 and also received specimens of the fruit thus summer, and con- 

 sider it one of the best early varieties. 



The Russian orchard was much improved by the vigorous 

 thinning and pruning practiced, and some phenomenal specimens 

 of Antinovka and other varieties were produced. I was warned 

 by my neighbors that I would spoil the orchard by pruning such 

 large trees, but it was a case of "kill or cure," and the results 

 justify the means. In fact, I have yet to find a tree injured by 

 the saw where sound before the operation. To sum up, it has 

 been a remarkable season, full of disappointments and surprises 

 but withal a good experience teacher. Nearly all trees so badly 

 afifected by blight have nearly recovered, and the outlook for 

 next year's crop is fully up to the average. Small fruits unless 

 injured by the warm weather of October will yield a heavy crop, 

 and apples promise good. for the off year. Altogether the promise 

 still runs high that Minnesota will yet become a leading fruit 

 bearing state. 



MINNESOTA CITY TRIAL STATION. 



O. M LORD, SUPT. 



The most important specialty of this station is plums, of 

 which there are about one hundred varieties of bearing age. The 

 crop was an entire failure this year, probably owing to wet 

 weather and to high winds at the time of blossoming. There 

 was also notably a deficiency in the amount of pollen produced. 



