GROWING TREES AND FRUITS IN RED RIVER VALLEY. 205 



the winter all right. Raspberry canes, both red and black, froze back 

 to the ground. They were not protected the fall before with either 

 mulch or laying down canes and covering with earth. 



In the years 1880 and 1881 I planted more currants, gooseberries, 

 raspberries. Transcendent and Hyslop crabs and Desoto plums. The 

 varieties of currants I grew mostly were White Grape, Improved 

 Red Dutch, Victoria, Prince Albert and Long Bunch Holland ; also 

 Mammoth Cluster black raspberry, Philadelphia, Turner and Cuth- 

 bert red raspberries, Houghton and Downing gooseberries. 



In the year 1882 I planted one acre to strawberries, one-half each 

 of Wilson and Crescent. The year 1883 was very dry in the spring 

 and summer, but I had one of the best paying crops of strawberries 

 I have ever grown. I took off something over 3,000 quarts of fruit, 

 which sold readily in our market at twenty-five cents a quart. I 

 also had a good crop of raspberries from the Philadelphia — none to 

 speak of from the other varieties — and a good fair crop of currants 

 and gooseberries. 



I purchased in the fall of 1883 forty acres of new ground, where 

 I have my present nursery, within one mile of the city, and broke up 

 one-half of this ground the following year. I had it in fine condition 

 to transplant to trees and small fruits in years 1885 and 1886. In 

 years 1883 and 1884 there was a strong demand from new settlers 

 for forest trees and small fruits from north Minnesota and North Da- 

 kota. My trade in nursery stock was increasing rapidly. Settlers 

 were planting tree claims and making groves around their homes 

 on the prairies and planting small fruits. Transcendent and Hyslop 

 crabs and Desoto plums were the only kinds of large fruits we could 

 grow with success. Our winters were too severe to grow any stand- 

 ard apples. I have found by experience that we can grow good 

 crops of small fruits in this northern country, providing we have 

 shelter belts or groves around our homes. 



We are troubled some springs with late frosts in May that kill 

 nearly all blossoms on plums, crab apples, currants and gooseberries ; 

 sometimes frosts in June which kill blossoms on strawberry beds and 

 raspberries. We can prevent this damage some by heavy mulching 

 of straw. When we do have good fair crops of small fruits they 

 pay well for time and expense. The quality is very fine and much 

 fresher than those shipped into our market. There is a heavy de- 

 mand for all kinds of fruits in this northern country, growing more 

 and more every year. 



Since 1895 our winters have become milder — more groves on 

 our prairies, more shelter for fruit growing. We can grow the 

 Duchess and Hibernal apples fairly well : Transcendent, Hyslop 



