130 ANNUAL REPORT 



some fruit of fine appearance. Currants, strawberries, raspber- 

 ries and blackberries in several varieties are all doing well. 



We also visited the vineyards of Dr. Wickersliam, and find 

 him a very successful grape grower. He is succeeding well with 

 the older varieties, while Brighton, Pockliugton and Martha 

 are doing remarkably well. The doctor has a small orchard in 

 bearing; many of the trees, however, were scorched by the late 

 hard winter. We meet and form the acquaintance of David 

 Quinn, who is a very successful grower of small fruits, and find 

 that he is the owner of about the best orchard in this vicinity. 

 The varieties are ijrincipally Duchess, Tetofsky, Wealthy, and 

 Whitney and some of the newer Siberians and Hybrids. The 

 Wealthy is considerably injured and he lost all other varieties 

 except the above named in the very disastrous winter of 1884-5. 



We believe this section of country posseses peculiar advantages 

 for fruit culture and that large quantities of it could be profita- 

 bly grown. 



August lUh. — We spent an hour or two with John Mathewson 

 who is located a little south of Ramsey, on the line of the South- 

 ern Minnesota Railroad. The orchards here are looking badly, 

 the worst of any point we have visited. From an observation of 

 the soil and lay of the land about here we infer nothing but the 

 Siberians and hardiest varieties of apples will succeed. Sharp 

 agents have traveled through here and their villainous operations 

 have about discouraged the farmers from doing any more tree 

 planting. Wherever tried strawberries are a wonderful success, 

 the Crescent taking the lead. Red raspberries are also doing 

 well; blackcaps are reported as being subject to blight. Vegeta- 

 bles succeed so well here that farmers have no reasonable excuse 

 for not having their ta])les well supplied with them as well as 

 with small fruits. 



AT MINNESOTA CITY. 



Augusfilth. — Wespenda day at Minnesota City, aboutsix miles 

 above Winona. This place is historic grounds in the annals of 

 Minnesota horticulture. Here, in 1852, John Shaw, of Penobscot 

 County, Maine, i^lanted a large quantity of apple seeds, many of 

 the trees from which jjroved very good, and were made the 

 nucleus of many orchards within a radius of ten miles. Many 

 of the trees proving so hardy as to survive and produce large 

 quantities of fruit down to the winters of 1884-5-6, setting Wi- 

 nona County ahead of every other county in the State for apple 

 culture, and proving beyond a doubt that fruit could profitably 



