8 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



raiu and hot weather, tlie vines looked as well as we could ask. I 

 could not see any difference in the appearance of this eight acre 

 piece and one on higher and more sandy land. All looked well and 

 blossomed as full as possible, and fruit set as full as could be de- 

 sired. At this time for two daj'S it was 100 to 115° in the shade. From 

 that time on the fruit stood still, the hvxlls and vines continuing to 

 grow, the little hard, small, seedy fruit turning red, excepting a 

 small portion of the promised fruit which was protected b}'^ the 

 heavy foliage. Except this, the crop was a failure, 5,000 boxes being 

 the amount received from ten acres. All varieties suffered about 

 alike, Bederwood standing at the head for productiveness and size. 

 The varieties cultivated were Crescent. Warfield, Pearl, Saunders, 

 Lovett's Early, Edgar Queen, Great Pacific, Woolverton, Princess, 

 Enhance, Parker Earle, Haverland, Capt. Jack, Wilson, Jessie, 

 Crawford, Eureka and Bederwood. 



The partial failure of strawberries seems to have extended to all 

 parts of the country, north and south. 



Red raspberries, mainly Cuthbert and Turner, gave about one 

 third of a crop. Marlboro on one year bushes gave some very 

 fine specimens and promises well on rich soil. Blackcaps, mainly 

 Ohio, did fairly well, considering the dry weather. 



Blackberries seem to have been damaged in the spring bj^ the 

 excessive rain and hot weather which followed, and were not more 

 than one-half a crop. Snyder being an early variety seems to have 

 been damaged more than Stone's Hard}^ or Ancient Briton. These 

 are tlie three varieties in cultivation, each good, but the Ancient 

 Briton, being of medium season, stands at the head of the list. 



SMALL FRUITS. 



E. E. HARRIS, LA CRESCENT. 



The past season (1893) was very unfavorable for strawberries in 

 this localitj-, drouth and insufficient fertilization being generally 

 accepted as causes of failure. 



With my experience and observation I would hesitate to rec- 

 ommend a list of varieties, unless I could be sure that I would 

 never meet the man who adopted the recommendation. Let 

 every man choose for himself, and whatever varietj' he selects 

 he will wish he had taken some other. I would not discour- 

 age any one, for I am sure that in spite of frequent failures there is 

 money in it. With regard to soil, I would say, use the best you have; 

 if not rich enough, manure heavily and raise some other crop the 

 year before you set the plants. The only right time to set straw- 

 berry plants is in the spring. Set in rows four feet apart and two 

 feet apart in row, with not less than one-third pollenizers. Thorough 

 cultivation is required for success in raising any crop. 



Mulching is a fine art which sometimes does a great deal of good 

 and sometimes works the other way. Material for mulching is bet- 

 ter if run through a feed cutter. Cleaning up old beds rarely pays; 

 better to set new plants every year, though some old beds do very 



