256 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Strawberries will be a short crop, as we have had no rain for six 

 weeks. Raspberries look well yet. The Warfield and Jessie straw- 

 berries are the best bearers. Cloud is a nice berry, quite productive 

 this season and does not seem to mind the drouth. Wilson has a 

 poor crop. Crescent set a good crop, but are too small. Michels 

 Early will be a good male variety here, I judge, from its appearance. 

 Bederwood, Shuster's Gem and Haverland had mostly all the ber- 

 ries imperfect and unsalable. Jessie and Cloud had no imperfect 

 berries. Great Pacific did not bear. 



I prefer the Jessie with the Countess as a pollenizer. It always has 

 done well here. Bubach is very large, but not productive enough 

 to grow for market. Countess is so soft this year I cannot sell them. 



I am not one-half as much afraid of the cold winters as of the 

 drouth in suminer. 



WINDOM EXPERIMENT STATION. 



( Report up to July 12.) 

 DEWAIN COOK, STTPT. 



The fall of 1893 was unusually dry here, and it was in this condi- 

 tion when the ground froze up. Abundance of snow fell early in 

 December, and enough remained on the ground to give a good deal 

 of root protection to trees and i^lants, and we had good sleighing all 

 winter. 



The lowest point reached by the thermometer at this station was 

 26° below zero. Fruit trees and plants wintered better than usual; 

 out of over one hundred varieties of apples growing here, I am un- 

 able to find anj^ variety that was killed back an}^, every variety com- 

 ing out sound to the tips and growing from the terminal buds. 



We have had verj^ little blight here so far this season, and that 

 is confined entirely to two or three varieties of blighting crabs. 

 My last Belchers Sweet went this summer with blight. My trees are 

 growing finely, and as a whole my orchard is healthier and looking 

 better than ever. We h^d little bloom on our apple trees, and hardly 

 any apples are now to be found on anj^ of the trees. I must not 

 omit to mention that one Okabena apple tree, set the spring of 1888, 

 is now carrying seventeen large fine looking apples, which is more 

 than any other tree of its size or age of any variety is bearing that I 

 have growing. 



Strawberries were very nearlj^ a failure. Winter killing on new 

 beds was quite general, and at the time strawberries were ripening, 

 in the last days of June, we had been having four weeks of continu- 

 ous drouth and the fruit was much smaller than usual. The War- 

 field and Enhance were about as large as usual. The frost of May 

 18th also destroyed some of the early bloom 



The Juneberry bore heavily and did not seem to be affected in the 

 least by the drouth; were ripe July first. The fruit sold readily at 

 ten cents per quart. The}^ were much admired by everj' one who 

 saw them ripe on the bushes. 



Currants.— While these did not bear as heavily as some years 

 yet thej' were a good crop, and fruit larger than usual. This is ow- 

 ing, no doubt, to heavy manuring each season and to my mulching 

 them last spring with stable manure just after the heavy rains and 



