GENERAL FRUITS. 113 



say add more grapes, blackberries and a good sized patch of straw- 

 berries. But, if he has no taste for horticulture and must hire all 

 work done, I would advise him to omit blackberries and straw- 

 berries; for ten chances to one neither the hired man nor any one 

 else on the farm could manage the strawberry bed so as to make it 

 either profitable or ornamental. 



If this man has a good place for an orchard and he makes the best 

 use of the light now before him, he can, probably, make more money 

 from an orchard in southern Minnesota than from any other equal 

 amount of expenditure on the farm. If his location is unfavorable, 

 he should still have an orchard; he should abandon the idea of 

 money making and plant for convenience, comfort and home adorn- 

 ment. He should studj^ up on tree protection and distribute liber- 

 ally through the orchard evergreen and other ornamental, not for- 

 getting nut-bearing, trees suited to the climate. He should plant 

 all kinds of fruit trees of value, that he thinks he can give adequate 

 protection to. Even peaches may be grown, if he will lay down and 

 cover then or build a suitable house over them for winter protection. 



How far he will follow this line must be determined bj' the con- 

 dition of his pocket book and his own taste; but, certainly, he can 

 pursue it far enough at a moderate expense to create a little para- 

 dise all his own, and it is just possible it might be all the paradise 

 he would ever see. 



I would advise the growing of tree fruits by farmers in preference 

 to small fruits for the following reasons: The work of growing trees 

 is directly in his line, consisting of plowing, dragging, cultivating, 

 hoeing and mulching. Most men prefer this kind of work rather 

 than fussing with strawberries. 



Almost the entire work of producing a crop of strawberries must 

 be repeated each season, so that the loss of a crop, which is quite 

 frequent with the farmer, means the loss of all this labor. Not so 

 with the orchard; a failure of a crop means simply waiting another 

 year and giving his trees proper care at an expense of about ten 

 cents per tree for cultivating and mulching, during which time his 

 trees are g-rowing more rapidlj^ than while producing crops. Then 

 the results must be considered; a man may grow stnall fruits for ten 

 years without any permanent improvement to the farm, but if he 

 has cultivated fruit trees under the stimulus of wholesome medi- 

 cine for that length of time, he has not only added to his own 

 material wealth, but he has added beauty to the landscape and a 

 source of great attraction to the farm; he has helped to^ untangle 

 the intricate mazes of nature's requirements and he has added a new 

 charm to life. He will enjo}' exquisite pleasure in strolling in the 

 orchard in springtime and sniffing the balmy breeze, scented anew 

 from his blossoming trees; and in the fullness of his expanding 

 soul he may exclaim, this is a grand old world. He will feel a con- 

 sciousness of having acted well his part, and he will leave to pos- 

 terity^ a heritage better than gold. 



DISCUSSION. 

 Mrs. A. A. Kennedy: I have only an acre of ground in fruit, 

 and I run the garden and tlie men the farm, and I pay the in- 



