312 SECRETARY'S CORNER. 



two feet wide, and with the large amount of land overtlowed in its 

 course by the dam built by the government and the great number 

 of lakes in that section the climate must necessarilj'- oe influenced 

 favorably in the matter of exemption from frosts. While a large 

 portion of the country is swamp lands and white pine lands, the 

 latter of which are usually of a light, sandy soil, j^et much of the 

 territory is covered with a vigorous growth of hard wood, and the 

 shrubs and wild flowers and fruits found through the timber are 

 very much the same nature as those in the latitude of Minneapolis. 



There are few cultivated fruits growing in this section, although 

 some have been planted in the town of Grand Rapids, a thriving 

 place of some 1,500 inhabitants. The country around is just being 

 opened to settlement and, with a few notable exceptions, there are 

 no clearings that yet deserve the name of farms. But that locality 

 is certain in time to become a prosperous farming community. Its 

 wild fruits are most abundant, and in number of species and 

 varieties considerably exceeds those grown in the big woods section 

 of Minnesota. Several varieties of blueberries, the sand cherrj', 

 Juneberry, and several others could be named which are not found 

 native in the big woods region. Especially strawberries grow wild 

 in the greatest abundance, and are of large size and exquisite flavor. 

 Both the Alpine and the Virginiana varieties are found freely inter- 

 mingled. The adaptability of that locality to the culture of small 

 fruits is certainly assured, and it is certain that crab apples, and 

 possibly the pyrus malus, tnay be grown there. 



Our New England friends would be delighted to find in abundance 

 growing there naturally in the pine woods the fragrant trailing 

 arbutus and the wintergreen, or checkerberry, as they grew with us 

 in "Auld Lang Syne." 



An opportunity of a few hours at Duluth revealed similar con- 

 ditions in that section, where the soil and vegetation are much the 

 same as at Grand Rapids, the age of the place making certain, how- 

 ever, what only seems probable at the newer locality. There are to be 

 found there many fine trees of the crab varieties, and I saw some 

 ver}-^ nice Duchess, 1.5 to 18 years old, in bearing, that looked healthy, 

 only showing lack of vigor from statiding in the grass. Evidently 

 any kind of tree or shrub that will grow in the locality of Minne- 

 apolis will thrive at Duluth and ripen its fruit, taking into consider- 

 ation always the fact that the summer is somewhat shorter at that 

 lake port, and comes on nearly a month later in the spring. At this 

 time, June 25, the snowball is just in flower there. 



I saw some fine speciinens of the horse chestnut, although iu 

 some places they were sun-scalded on th • south side; also handsome 

 bearing cherry trees. Lake Superior is an important factor in the 

 situation there not to be overlooked. 



The small fruits of this section are famous for their productive- 

 ness and size. Mr. Bovee, at Carleton, a point twenty miles eouth- 

 we-t of Duluth, on the St. Paul and Duluth railroad, has, I 

 understand, fifteen acres of strawberries. The growing of straw- 

 berries and raspberries for late shipment to the Twin City 

 markets is, I am satisfied, an industry that will eventually be de- 

 veloped on a large scale. 



