‘ 
fj vee | 
. om oe 
146 ANNUAL REPORT. 
next, and. straw, if free from foul seed, is very good. Many | nake 
sad mistakes in removing the covering from their strawb bee 
before the frosty nights are over. There is usually no of 
smothering the plants if care be taken to lighten the coveri after 
the snow is off. Our fruit raisers cultivate very little His ills, pre- 
ferring to let the vines run and form beds two or three feet wide. 
Vines are worth very little after the third year. 
The raspberry is one of our most wholesome and desisable fruits. 
It succeeds the strawberry in season, and if grown properly is 
thought by some to excel it in flavor and deliciousness. Our 
and Black, as found in their native haunts, growing in the shade of 
the lofty maples and hickory, possess rare delicacy unrivaled by 
our cultivated sorts. Moist, cool locations, with northern expos- 
ures, are preferable. Doubtless many of you have seen in your 
wanderings localities where the wild raspberry grows luxuriantly. 
Such situations are well adapted to the growth of cultivated varie- 
ties. The severity of the past two winters has proved most disas- 
trous to the raspberry, in many instances killing the canes nearly 
to the ground. (The best method of protection is one of the sub- 
jects needing our attention.) Many of the finer varieties, protect 
them ever so well, are too tender for this climate. 
Raspberries are sometimes quite remunerative, giving returns of 
from three to six hundred dollars per acre. The bushes are not so 
subject to the depredations of insects as many other of our small 
fruits. The small borer that assails them near the root is easily 
destroyed by the free use of wood ashes. Doolittle and Seneca are 
leading varieties. Red Philadelphia for hardiness and productive- 
ness stands first, quality of fruit is not equal to some of the new 
sorts. 
Mulching has a tendency to increase productiveness and flavor 
of fruit. 
T hope in the future we may be able to devote more time and 
attention to the nature and cultivation of small fruits. For from 
these are, to some, the profits of fruit raising in the State. 
Query—Is the tomato a small fruit or a vegetable? 
Respectfully yours, 
Wyman Ex ior. 
REPORT OF J. I. SALTER, OF ST. CLOUD. 
Sr. Croup, Minn.. June 21st, 1875. 
Mr. C0. Y. Lacy: 
Srr :—Your favor of the 5th inst. was duly received, and in com- 
pliance with your request, I herewith return to you a very imper- 
fect report of the condition of fruit in my vicinity. Owing to the 
backwardness of the spring, rendering the early preparation of the 
soil for the reception of the different seeds inexpedient, and in some 
