48 ANNUAL KEPOKT 



Recurring to small fruits, I expect to be able to make a good report 

 next year on strawberries, as my Crescents, which I neglected to men- 

 tion in last report, and my Glendales, Sharpless, Warrens, Parry's, 

 Black Defiance and Triumphe De Glondes have all made a luxuriant 

 growth, and the Jewell a few strong plants. 



In the orchard, everthing that got a fair start in last year's dry sea- 

 son, has done well thi^ summer, and the rest that were cut back last 

 spring have made good new stems, the ground froze up dry about a 

 week ago, but not deep, till we got two snow falls, each of about four 

 inches, in quick succession — the last very damp, so as to prevent 

 drifting, and both will probably melt and go into the ground before 

 we haye any hard freezes. The additional Russians sent me by Prof. 

 Budd last spring, apple, pear, cherry and plum, together with some 

 trees of the Wolf native plum of Iowa, said to be a freestone similar 

 to the Weaver, but darker in color, and larger, have all made a vigor- 

 ous growth. 



Speaking of native plums, I have a lot of letters of inquiry and 

 asking for seeds and cions, as a result of my report on my plum 

 grower at your last annual meeting. It is annoying, for only now 

 and then a correspondent sends stamps for a reply, and I am too busy 

 with my own affairs to attend to their requests, and not being in the 

 trade have no facilities to pack for mail or shipment. If your experi- 

 mental stations want to try them, I shall be happy to furnish small 

 lots to each, if your Society will let me refer to them and will under- 

 take redistribution when enough cions are grown. The crop this 

 year was very abundant on nearly all the trees outside of the cattle 

 pasture, and the surplus sold at sight by the load at Madison at two 

 dollars per bushel. As a hint to others, I will mention here, that the 

 market at the same time was overstocked with half ripened, poorly 

 handled plums from the Big Sioux and the gulches in this vicinity at 

 one dollar per bushel; but mine were left on the trees till ripe and in 

 full color, handled carefully, crated in Beecher baskets — a lot that I 

 have had on hand for fifteen years in continuous use — and carried to 

 town in a spring wagon. We shook them off upon a soft carpet of 

 grass without injury, as the space under the trees was kept mown like 

 a lawn and all rough or sharp things kept grubbed out or picked up 

 for this purpose. I would never cultivate the native plum, but keep 

 the ground in grass and fertilize by top dressing when necessary. 

 This to prevent suckers from severed roots. No new sorts worthy of 

 mention found this season, although previous favorable impressions 

 are sustained and increased by second testing of many sorts. We find. 



