THE DUST MULCH IN MINNESOTA. 471 



that the best way is to seek out a piece of virgin prairie and set your 

 trees in that. 



Mr. J. S. Harris : Thirty-three years ago the Rockford nursery 

 sold a good many trees in Minnesota. Every tree I bought 

 was black hearted, and those trees survived three or four years 

 and finally went under. My friend from Austin told you of 

 an orchard he knows of. I have visited that orchard and am con- 

 vinced that it is taken care of better than any I have ever seen, and 

 he bought his trees in Minnesota and set them out, and they com- 

 menced bearing and bear large crops every year. I have been there 

 twice, and he has a model orchard. 



Prof. Green : It seems to me in discussing this mulch question 

 the thing is rather run together instead of divided as it should be. 

 One part is protection against summer drouth, and another is pro- 

 tection against winter cold. Some agree with my friend. Prof. 

 Robertson, that the proper time to put it on is in the summer for 

 summer drouth, which is correct, and for winter protection we put 

 it on at this time. I do not believe it was a good thing to mulch in 

 June. I believe in trying to protect against summer drouth, and I 

 believe in a late application to protect against winter drouth. I be- 

 believe in the dust blanket as a protection against summer drouth 

 and mulching against winter drouth. You can use mulching in sum- 

 mer or cultivate to protect against summer drouth, and you can do 

 the same thing in winter. In case of strawberries I believe in muicii- 

 ing against winter drouth. I believe the small strawberry crop is on 

 account of hard freezing. I believe it is simply a weakening of the 

 plant due to severe freezing. While I believe it may be well to make 

 these general statements, the thing has got to be considered in 

 detail. 



Xext Summer's Flowers. — Prepare for the summer flowers by 

 securing some reliable catalogues, select the varieties most desired 

 and order the seeds early. Make a plan of the grounds you are going 

 to use and mark off the beds on paper. Some pleasant day have the 

 flower beds covered with well-decayed manure. This enables it to 

 leach into the soil, and it is also there when in the rush of spring 

 work it might be forgotten. As early as possible spade the soil 

 deeply, fine it down ready for planting, but do not put the seeds in 

 the ground until the soil is warm. Slow maturing varieties had bet- 

 ter be started in the house.— E. C. 



