HORTICULTURAL VENTURES, WISE AND OTHERWISE. 1 43 



Mr. Richardson : They told me that tin would keep off the 

 birds, so I went to the tin shop and got a lot of tin and fastened 

 it to the trees, and I always thought the birds came there to see 

 themselves in those tin looking glasses. I know it brought more 

 birds. (Laughter.) 



Mr. P. J. Bentz (S. D.) : I would like to bring out some facts 

 in regard to cherry growing in the western portion of the state. I 

 had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. C. G. Patten last week. I have 

 a good many cherry trees planted, and he professed surprise at the 

 thrifty condition of the trees of all kinds, and especially the cherry 

 trees. I notice that horticulturists do not generally recommend the 

 planting of cherry trees, yet there are cherries growing in the west- 

 ern section. 



Mr. A. D. Barnes (Wis.): I would like to add a little* testi- 

 mony in regard to the hardiness of the Early Richmond cherry tree. 

 I planted ninety-nine Early Richmond cherry trees sixteen years ago 

 last spring, and ninety-two of those are in a thrifty condition at this 

 time. They yielded some cherries the next season of the best quality 

 I ever tasted. I kept a record of the product of those trees, and 

 my books show that I have sold over $1200 worth of cherries from 

 those trees. On my soil and location I have never had any cherry 

 trees that were as good and healthy as the Richmond. I have tried 

 the Ostheim, the Montmorency and all of the Wragg cherries. I 

 think you will make no mistake if you plant the Early Richmond. 



Mr. Cook : I had a dozen or fifteen varieties. They wintered 

 all right and blossomed in the spring and set some little cherries. 

 We got the cherry trees to live all right, and they were full of 

 blossoms, but that is all the fruit I got. 



Mr. L. R. Moyer : In western Minnesota, where I live, we 

 have two cherries that do well and have produced a good crop. 

 They are the Ostheim and the Pseudo-Hardy. I have never seen 

 the Pseudo-Hardy mentioned, but they seem to be of as good a 

 quality as the Ostheim and as hardy. We have had the Wragg 

 cherry, but it has gone out entirely. They would grow up two or 

 three feet high and then die down after a short time. 



Mr. S. A. Ailing: I have fruited cherries in Minnesota suc- 

 cessfully for forty-seven years with the exception of two years. I 

 have fruited the Early Richmond, and I have tried sixteen other 

 varieties, and I have never gathered a peck from any variety ex- 

 cept from the old Homer cherry. I want to set some people right 

 in the matter of the Homer cherry. I think I am the oldest fruit 

 grower in Winona county. Nurserymen are selling wliat they call 

 the Homer cherry, but the people that are buying arc not buying 

 anything new. I have fruited the Homer cherry for fortv-seven 

 years. They are the most prolific bearer and the sweetest cherries 

 growing in the northwest. I have shipped trees all over the western 

 and northern states. I have shipped them almost everywhere, and 

 I have had nothing but the most favorable reports. The Homer 

 cherry tree, so-called, is one of the greatest trees ever produced 

 because it does not sunscald. There is another thing about cherry 

 trees in this country. I was raised on a fruit farm at New Haven, 



