SMALL FRUITS IN 1896. 325 



SMALL FRUITS IN 1896. 



F. W. KIMBALL, AUSTIN 

 The small fruits iu our section this year were rather disappoint- 

 ing-, as a rule; strawberries from one-fifth to one-half a crop; black- 

 caps and red raspberries, as a rule, fairly good; mine were the best I 

 have ever had them. Gooseberries were a flat failure and largely 

 injured by mildew, wherever I have learned about them; with me 

 my old bushes did not show the effects of it, but all my young- 

 bushes were more or less effected. Plums were abundant but where 

 not thinned were small, owing to the immense number set. Grapes 

 only fair. While all vines bore a fine crop, the bunches seemed to be 

 lacking in many points, I should judge the result of imperfect pol- 

 lenation. The season was a very favorable one for growth in this 

 section, at no time suffering from drouth. Heavy and continuous 

 rains the latter part of October and first of November have put the 

 ground in fine shape for all plants for the winter. We feel encour- 

 aged to believe that we shall have a good showing of small fruit 

 another season. 



Mr. Clarence Wedge: Mr. President, I notice Mr. Kimball 

 makes some mention of thinning plums. I do not like to let 

 that go without emphasizing the necessity of thinning the best 

 varieties of plums. The only way we can get annual crops of 

 our best sorts, like the Desota, is by thinning, which can be 

 done by giving the branches a vigorous shaking when the 

 plums are about the size of a large pea or a little larger; and 

 that is the only way we can grow plums with any degree of 

 satisfaction. 



Mr. C. B. Crandall: I would like to ask Mr. Kimball what 

 varieties of raspberries do the best with him? 



Mr. Kimball: Of the black, the Ohio was the best; the red 

 are rather mixed in variety. The blacks were especially 

 good, and they were especially abundant this season. The 

 blackcaps were the Ohio, and I do not think I ever saw any 

 finer. 



Pres. Underwood: I see we have with us a veteran planter 

 from Wisconsin, and I would like to ask him in regard to his ex 

 perience in planting black raspberries, and that is Mr. Kellogg. 

 Mr. Kellogg, we have been discussing the planting of rasp- 

 berry tips and the best way to succeed in growing them, and 

 the thought has been advanced by some that root-pruning would 

 be of advantage, and we would like to know whiat your experi- 

 ence has been. 



Mr. J. G. Kellogg: My experience has been that we have 

 not had enough roots in the fall to put them in shape for next 

 season's planting; the lack of vitality in the roots caused a 



