338 ANNUAL REPORT 



Ironclad. — This variety has the best foliage of any in our list. 

 It blossomed sooner than any of the others, but owing to the 

 drought very little fruit was set, and it was of poor quality. It 

 is doubtless a good variety. 



Minnetonlca Chief. — This variety gave great satisfaction. The 

 bulk of the crop was gone when it began fruiting. It gives a 

 large number of medium, even-sized berries — quite acid, when 

 fully ripe, and its high flavor surpasses the Crescent. It grows 

 well, has good foliage, and is a very good late variety. 



Ray\s Prolific. — This berry is prolific only of plants — its fruit 

 is too small and too scarce to be of any value. Not worth the 

 ground it occupies, but we shall test it again next season. 



Wilson. — This old-time favorite remains one of the best ber- 

 ries in the list. A row of Wilson and Crescent — about an equal 

 mixture — gave a remarkable yield. Its firmness and its bright 

 color make it one of the best shipping berries grown. It is early,, 

 and is thus one of the leading sorts for the home market. 



Glendale.—OuT plants of Glendale nearly all jjroved to be 

 something else. The few plants that were true to name gave 

 large, firm fruit, of a rather dull red color. In size it is very 

 good, and when fully ripe has an agreeable flavor, but it seems^ 

 from this year's test, scarcely equal to our other late sort — Min- 

 netonka Chief. 



James Vick, Green Prolific^ and Jersey Queen. — Our plants of 

 these varieties were too few. to give a fair idea of their worth. 

 None of them are as good growers on light loam as Crescent. 



HILL CULTURE. 



In the spring of 1885 a large bed was set from which the 

 runners were carefully trimmed. Crescent, with every third 

 row Wilson, was planted. The growth was very fine. The 

 plants were set fifteen inches apart in the rows. In autumn 

 they had tilled the intervening space — all runners having been 



cut off. 



The bed was given a light mulch of cornstalks in December. 

 The snow drifted badly over it and in March a few weeks of 

 freezing and thawing made ice cakes here and there over the 

 patch. The result was that wherever the ice had thus formed 

 the plants were killed. A very poor crop was obtained. Dur- 

 ing the past season the dead plants were reset with all fertile 

 sorts and the bed changed to matted row system. 



