350 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



FRUIT AT SLEEPY EYE, IN 1896. 



MARTIN PENNING. 



APPLES. 

 The following- varieties are growing-, and seem to be hardy with 

 me on our open prairies: Duchess, Peerless, Patten's Greening, 

 Roinua, 559 and 11 M., Hibernal, 378. The following varieties were 

 a failure with me: Blushed Calville, Ledenet, 30 M., Anisette, 185, 

 Aport Veronish, 23 M., and Sklanka. Bogdanoff, McMahon's White 

 and Beecher's Sweet are also not hardy in our open prairie. 



PLUMS. 



The plum is my favorite fruit. I had a fair crop for this 

 season (1896), the weather being against us. Hot, dry winds in blos- 

 soming time was the main drawback. The blossotns did not last 

 more than two or three days, so pollenization could not have its 

 full effect. Only those varieties which are rich in pollen bore fruit, 

 such as Desota, Weaver, Cheney and Surprise. The Surprise, for 

 being a Chickasaw, is hardy, rich in pollen and a good annual 

 bearer, the best plum in my whole collection. Its fruit is of even, 

 uniform size, and all are perfect in shape. 



Pluins were a failure in this part of the state, except with those 

 that gave their trees good cultivation. Plum trees should have a 

 g-ood dressing of barnyard manure in the fall. The scraping of the 

 manure pile is the best. I give my trees a good supply of wood 

 ashes. One more good point for this fruit is a few handfuls of salt 

 for each tree. 



CHERRIES. 

 I am a beginner in cherries. Two years ago I planted Besarabian, 

 Orell, 23, and Sklanka. The Besarabian is the best with me, though 

 they have borne no fruit yet. I received a few trees from a Dane. 

 The trees are hardy, and the fruit is large. I also got a few trees of 

 Clemens Smith, of Brown county, Minn. He has fifteen trees that 

 are fourteen years old, and has had a good crop of fine cherries for 

 the last nine years. They are the " Weichsel," a large yellowish red 

 cherry. After a few years we will have this fine fruit. 



SMALL FRUITS. 



Currants were a fair crop; gooseberries a failure; strawberries 



have been a failure the last two years. It was too dry for them. 



Raspberries were fine, except toward the last picking. The Ohio and 



Turner took the lead in quarts. Juneberries were only half a crop. 



EVERGREENS. 

 Evergreens are growing finely on my place. My land is somewhat 

 sandy and adapted for evergreens. All kinds seem to do well except 

 arbor vitce, which have their roots too close to the top of the ground 

 and so cannot stand drought. The hardiest evergreen for the open 

 prairie is our native red cedar, and they will make a substantial 

 windbreak for the orchard. 



