EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 255 



best of all. Spiraea hypericefolia is g^ood, but spiraea Douglasii 

 seems to be quite tender. Spiraea billardii is in bloom at the pres- 

 sent writing and is doing well. 



ROSES. 



Perhaps the most satisfactory rose that we have cultivated is the 

 Yellow Scotch. It is very hardy. A small pink Scotch rose is very 

 desirable, too, and is equally hardy. A white rose brought from the 

 old Eastern farm, without any name but probably something like 

 Madame Plantier, produces enormous quantities of fine roses with- 

 out winter protection. The best climbing rose that we have tried 

 is Seven Sisters. It is taken down and covered with earth in the 

 winter. We consider rosa rugosa a desirable shrub. 



LILACS. 



When the beauty and hardiness of the lilac is taken into consid- 

 eration, it is wonderful that it is not more generally planted. Every 

 species of lilac that we have planted is hardy. The Japanese tree 

 lilac lost its terminal buds last winter, but is growing well. It is not 

 likely that it will become a tree in our cold cliinate. 



CURRANTS. 



The old-fashioned yellow flowering currant is an ornamental 

 shrub of value, and so is No, 148 Vor, introduced by Prof. Budd. 

 Ribes Alpinum seems to be hardy. 



OTHER SHRUBS. 



Among the more humble and modest shrubs, potentilla fruticosa 

 seems to possess value. Phellodendron, from the Amur Valley, is 

 standing well. A nut-bearing almond, introduced from Russia by 

 Prof. Budd, seems to be hardy. Ptelia trifoliata froze^back some, 

 but is starting vigorously. The Arctic bearberry needs a moister 

 climate than ours. ^ 



APPLES AND PEARS. 



Our young Russian apple trees wintered well, and so did the Rus- 

 sian pears, Kurskaya and Gakovsky. 



FERGUS FALLS EXPERIMENT STATION. 



F. H. FIEDLER, SUPT. 



In making my spring report I must remark that the first of July 

 is rather early for this section of the state to say anything of the 

 crops. 



All the fruit and ornamental stock came through the winter in the 

 best of condition except grapes, inost of which are dead. The hail 

 on August 19, 1893, knocked off all the new growth, and they started 

 to grow again and continued growing in the fall until frozen; and I 

 think the reason they are dead is that they were in the sap when 

 winter came on. 



The Russian apple orchard looks fine; no blight or insects as 

 yet. 



