86 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



"Strawberry crop damaged 50 per cent by excessive moisture. 

 Grapes damaged 30 per cent." 



"Rains spoiled all the early plum blossoms. Hoppers on some 

 kinds of apples. Many kinds of apples scabbed so they were worth- 

 less. Whether correct or not, I attribute the scab to the cold and 

 moisture." 



The quotations given above are samples of many letters received, 

 expressing the opinion of leading horticulturists on the effects of 

 excessive moisture. 



Some state that the moisture caused the plums to crack open 

 and injured the keeping qualities of some apples. 



There was a fair crop of apples raised in this congressional dis- 

 trict. Some varieties scabbed badly, but other varieties were free 

 from scab and bore full crops. Duchess, Wealthy and Patten's 

 Greening bore good crops and were comparatively free from scab. 

 Some Wealthy trees, twenty years old, bore as many as twenty-five 

 and thirty bushels of apples to the tree. 



An orchard, of about ten acres, near Winnebago City, on the 

 Holly farm, produced three thousand bushels of apples. The trees 

 are mostly Wealthy. 



The early plums were injured by the cold, wet weather during 

 the time of blooming. The later varieties, such as De Soto, Wyant 

 and Rockford, matured some fruit. Some of these trees were well 

 loaded with fruit, while other trees of the same variety bore but 

 little or no fruit. The fruit on many of the bearing trees injured 

 to some extent by cracking open during the wet weather. The 

 grapes were injured by the wet weather and did not mature as well 

 as in ordinary years. But few cherries are raised in this part of the 

 state, and the birds usually take the most of them. The crop was 

 lighter than usual this year. There were fair yields of strawber- 

 ries, raspberries and blackberries. There are but few blackberries 

 planted. The currant and gooseberry crops were exceedingly light. 

 The interest in fruit culture is on the increase. Many young or- 

 chards of hardy trees have been planted and bid fair to pay good 

 dividends on the capital invested. 



What is needed is more of the late keeping apples. The summer 

 and early fall apples are so plentiful as to be a drug on the market 

 in the small towns, and it is hard to sell them at any reasonable 

 price. Late fall and winter apples always command a good price. 



The list of fruits recommended for general culture in this dis- 

 trict is the same as that recommended by the State Horticultural 

 Society for the southern part of the state. 



