HORTICULTURE ABOUT HINCKLEY, MINN. 317 



HORTICULTURE ABOUT HINCKLEY, MINN. 



A. K. DUSH, lecturi-:r with farmers' institute. 

 (Extract from letter dated June 9, 1904.) 



This circuit of institutes is strictly in the best interests of potato 

 growers, and nothing but topics bearing on that subject are dis- 

 cussed regularly on the platform. However, I meet those who are 

 interested in fruit growing one-half hour before the advertised time 

 of opening, and answer the flood of questions that come from the 

 audience relating to the garden and orchard. We give notice of 

 these fruit growers' meetings at the close of the morning session, 

 and, as a result, usually find the hall pretty well filled at one o'clock 

 with people waiting for instruction in the art. Strawberries do 

 splendidly on the heavy clay lands in the vicinity of this place, Hinck- 

 ley; however, they are successfully grown all along the line of the 

 N. P. and G. N. Rys., from the Twin Cities to Duluth. Some farm- 

 ers are giving their attention to the growing of vegetables for the 

 city markets, which are quickly and cheaply reached. We visited 

 a Mr. Struble, at Mora, who has a very large winter storage build- 

 ing, so constructed that it is heat and frost proof, where onions 

 and cabbage are held for the late trade. It pays to prepare for this 

 business when cabbage sells for $75.00 per ton and onions $1.50 

 per bushel, as they did last winter, and were a drug on the market 

 early in the fall. We learned of one man who, last winter, sold 

 $3,000.00 worth of cabbage grown on a small field. Mr. Westman, 

 of Sandstone, told us he could not meet the demand that came for 

 his strawberries, which sold for $2.00 per case of 16 quarts. He 

 has several acres growing and is clearing land for a much larger 

 acreage. We visited his farm and was surprised to see so little 

 of the winter-killing which prevailed over a large portion of the 

 Northwest. We also met Mr. Nyberg at Sandstone, who now has 

 charge of the farm that the late Prof. Otto Lugger opened in the 

 woods years ago. He told me they had several bushels of apples 

 last year grown on the trees that the professor planted. Others 

 reported, on various occasions, promising yields of small fruits and 

 apples. In my opinion the time will soon come when this section 

 will be sending strawberries to the southern and eastern markets ; 

 as well as supplying the home trade. The tame grasses grow wild 

 in the woods. Clover abounds everywhere. The new comer soon 

 learns that the pine stumps are removed at large expense, hence con- 

 fines his clearings to the growing of vegetables, fruits and similar 

 products. 



