CENTRAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 175 



plum trees that were heavy with fruit, with the result that the fruit 

 on them was j^reatly improved iti size aud the trees in vi^or. 



PEAKS. 



The hardier Russian pears have j;rown well with us when youn>f, 

 but tjenerally have bli.i^hted when just ready to commence fruitin;^-. 

 This year we raised a few Kielfer pears on trees that had been laid 

 on the ground for several winters. The Kielfer trees are very vi^^^or- 

 OU9 and promise to do well under this treatment. 



CHEKRIES. 



The so-called Russian varieties of cherries, as well as several other 

 sorts, are doiujT exceedingly well at the universitj* farm. The trees 

 are located on high laud with a gravely sub-soil. Those fruiting 

 the past season here are the Ostheim, Wragg, Geo. Glass and Lith- 

 auer Weichel. Of these, the Wragg seems the most valuable. The 

 Lithaner Weichel is a very vigorous, hardy tree but bears such 

 poor fruit that it seems strange it should ever have been cultivated 

 at all. 



SMALL FRUITS. 



Tlu- yield of small fruits in Minnesota in 1895 was much less than 

 usual. This difference is to be ascribed chiefly to the injuries 

 which the plants sustained during the very dry season of 18*J4. 

 This is also the case with perennial plants here generally, and it 

 will he noticed that even the growth of our hardiest trees was less 

 in 1S<».") than in 1894. undoubtedl}- on account of injuries they received 

 in 1S<.)4. Blackcap raspberries seemed to be less injured than other 

 kinds at the university farm aud produced a good crop in 1895. The 

 Lucretia dewberry also did well. Of the older varieties of rasp- 

 berries, those that are still especially popular and generally doing 

 well in the state are: Xemalia, Gregg, Souhegan and Older, of the 

 blackcap class, and Turner, Marlboro aud Cuthbert,of tlie red sorts, 

 propagated by suckers; Schaffer's Colossal is also doing well. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



The strawberrj* crop was verj' light, owing partlj' to the drouth of 

 1894 as well as to quite a hail storm that occurred just after the first 

 picking. The returns from the old beds were much more satisfac- 

 tory than from the newer plantings, which corresponds with the 

 results here in previous years as well as the experience of growers 

 generally. The varieties doing best were largelj' the old standard 

 sorts of former years, such as Crescent, Warheld, Haverland and 

 Bederwood. Of the new kinds planted in 1S94, Timbrel is of value 

 for very late use but does not color up well. It is a very robust 

 grower. We have about fifty seedling varieties of strawberries 

 raised here which have been selected from four hundred seedlings 

 that fruited here in IWil Some of these promise to be good enough 

 to warrant our sending them out for trial. 



