SOME LESSONS OF THE YEAR 1900. 285 



satisfactory, and the sprouts have not been of the same variety as 

 the original tree. ' 



The final summing up of the season in this part of the state 

 shows that there was harvested less than one-half a crop of straw- 

 berries, but little more than a half crop of raspberries, about an aver- 

 age crop of blackberries and grapes and a variable crop of native 

 plums, while apples were generally an exceptionally large crop, much 

 of which was lost from causes which will be mentioned later. If we 

 can locate the causes for these facts, valuable lessons will have been 

 learned. 



Strawberries. — Over much of the state the previous fall was 

 very dry, and its effect upon strawberries was that upon a large pro- 

 portion of the plantations (particularly new ones) the runners had 

 failed to form strong, well rooted plants, and although the bloom 

 was liberal, owing to this cause and the drouth which prevailed last 

 spring and continued until the season was well advanced, the plants 

 were too weak and feebly rooted to mature a full crop of perfect 

 fruit. Plantations that were put out very early the previous year 

 and had made a good supply of plants before the drouth set in did 

 much the best, which goes to show that clipping the runners off in 

 the earlier part of the season and depending upon later ones for 

 fruiting is not always a safe practice. Had all plantations been 

 made early, given proper cultivation and treated to irrigation in 

 August of the previous year, and again after the fruit had set last 

 spring, the crop would have been better. It is safd that Mr. R. H. 

 L. Jewett, of Faribault, treated his plantation to irrigation and se- 

 cured a larger and better crop of fruit than the generality of 

 growers. 



I visited a plantation at Galesville, Wis., in the fruiting season, 

 where a liberal application of old barnyard manure had been spread 

 between the rows, to get rid of it about mid-summer, and they were 

 mulched for the following winter with litter from the stables because 

 other material for the purpose was not at hand, and I never saw a 

 larger or better crop growing anywhere in any season. This ma- 

 nure kept the ground moist while the plants were making their 

 growth, and the manure winter mulching did not take up the mois- 

 ture made by melting snow and light spring rains but allowed the 

 moisture to carry nutriment to the roots of the plants. The lesson 

 favors irrigation in times of drouth and old manure on the surface 

 as a stimulant to growing plants. 



I have not come to a final decision upon the causes of the partial 

 failure of the raspberry crop. It did not appear to be any better 

 where the canes were laid down and covered during- the winter than 



