284 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Wm. Belt.—Bisexual. Plants, vigorous; fruit, dark red, irregular 
in form, large; probably not sufficiently productive for market; is 
rather too soft for shipping purposes. 
Raspberries have proved a very good crop and are now nearly 
harvested. Loudon and Columbian are about ona par as to yield, 
and both have produced enormous crops of fruit; the former with 
its bright red color and large fruit is the better market berry, while 
the latter on account of its purple color is not so popular in the 
markets, though it is of excellent quality for table use or canning. 
We like them both very much and think there are no other kinds 
that come very close tothem. The King has not done as well as last 
season, although it has made a good growth. Royal Church is very 
productive, but the fruit crumbles too easily to permit of its being 
of value asamarket sort. Thompson’s Early produces fruit of large 
size but not in sufficient quantities to make it very desirable. Mil- 
- ler’s Red is not sufficiently productive here for profit. The fruit is 
bright red, medium firm and of good quality. 
In the list of black raspberries we find no better early sort than 
the Progress and nothing better than Nemaha for general crop, 
while for home use the Older is the best of all, but is rather too soft 
for shipping purposes. 
Conrath’s Early.—This is the largest early black raspberry that 
we have; quality, good; plants, vigorous and productive. 
Kansas.—A very good early black raspberry, but it has not pro- 
duced as much fruit as Progress for several years. 
Smith’s Prolific—Early. Notary better than Progress. 
Smith's Giant.—Practically the same as Nemaha. 
Several varieties of gooseberries have done well, but our best 
yields have come from Champion and Downing, both of which pro- 
duce large fruit that is sweet and of most excellent quality when 
ripe. 
Snyder blackberries are just beginning to ripen, and the outlook 
is fora good crop of them, and also of Ancient Briton. Early in 
the season the plants looked weak,and we thought we had allowed 
more fruit to remain than they could mature, but the fruit has filled 
out well, and now the outlook is for a good yield. Six Rathburn 
blackberry plants set out in the spring of 1897 made a fair growth 
last year, but all died last winter except one plant, which is now not 
over two feet high. 
Juneberries never fail to produce acrop of fruit, and while on ac- 
count of the great abundance of better kinds of fruit we often fail 
to gather them, yet the regularity with which they produce makes 
them desirable, and they, like the mulberry, which always fruits 
here, furnish a bird food which protects our better fruit. In fact, 
the birds seem to prefer these rather tasteless fruits. 
The fruit buds on most of our cherry trees were again killed last 
winter, and very few flowers opened, although the trees are thrifty 
and vigorous. The Lithauer Weischel, an inferior Russian cherry, 
fruited very well, and a few other kinds have produced a little fruit. 
Plums will be a rather light crop, and many varieties will be 
badly spotted. 
