250 MINNESOTA. STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



LA CRESCENT EXPERIMENT STATION. 



J. S. HARRIS, SUPT. 



STRAWBERRIES. ^ |> 



The crop of 1894 at this station was very good. The season being- 

 two weeks earlier than 1893, the plants or fruit were not injured bj' 

 the false chinch bug until the very last picking, but the insect is 

 very plentiful and some plants have since suffered considerably. 

 Owing to the drouth of last year and other causes our old or new 

 beds were not as well filled with plants as usual, but fruit averaged 

 larger, making nearly a full crop. 



From the experience of the 3'ear we are well satisfied that it 

 pays well to clean out and hold over beds until the second crop is 

 taken off and no longer, and, further, that it is not expedient to keep 

 the early runners off of newly set plants, but rather to encourage 

 them to form plants as early in the season as possible; and that, ex- 

 cept in very favorable seasons, a bed set with late formed plants 

 will not give as good returns as one set with selected plants that 

 have become well rooted before the first of September. 



We had the first bloom on the Michel and Van Deman April 29, 

 and on the Bederwood, Crescent and Warfield on May 1 ; but none 

 of them bloomed very freely until May 9, when all varieties began 

 to show more or less bloom. The first vtirieties showing ripe fruit 

 were Michel and Van Deman, followed closely by Bederwood, War- 

 field and Crescent Of the varieties that are well known, we got the 

 best returns from the Warfield, Haverland and Crescent, pollenized 

 with the Bederwood and Michel. This is the first season we have 

 fruited the Bederwood. It appears to be a potent pollenizer and sur- 

 passed every pistillate variet}', even the Warfield, in j'ield of fruit. 

 The Van Deman appears to be a good pollenizer for an early variety ; 

 it is a fine berry, but does not yield enough to become a popular 

 market berry. Michel did better than usual with us this season and 

 gave about one-third as much fruit as the Warfield or the Haver- 

 land. First picking very fine in qualit5^ 



Doubtless, our Parker Earle is not genuine. It is a good plant 

 maker; fruit medium to very small; pale red, soft; low in flavor, 

 very late. Lovett has done verj^ well; also Crawford, Saunders, Bar- 

 ton's Eclipse and Greenville pi-omise well. Sandoval, Daisj^ Mrs. 

 Cleveland, Louise, Jessie and Bubach No. 5 do not with us prove re- 

 liable enough to warrant further planting of them for market pur- 

 poses. We believe the most profitable sorts to grow for market are 

 Warfield, Haverland and Crescent, pollenized with Bederwood and 

 Lovett. 



RASPBERRIES. 



Our raspberries were not laid down or given any protection last 

 winter. Thej' had been given verj^ thorougli shallow cultivation 

 the previous year, made a good growth and ripened up their wood 

 early, and did not start a late growth. The blackcaps were pinched 

 back once as soon as the canes had made a growth of two and one- 

 half to three feet, and the fruiting canes of bearing rows were re- 

 moved immediately after the last picking of fruit and were kept 



