32 ANNUAL REPORT 



The following description of the meeting and of the trip to the 

 lake the day folio wing,'From the pen of President Elliot, is given 

 here : 



THE SUMMER MEETING. 



The annual summer meeting held June 28th, at the state ex- 

 periment farm, St. Anthony Park, and the excursion the twenty- 

 ninth, at Lake Minnetonka and its environs, was an occasion 

 worthy of mention in the annals of this Society; one of the mile 

 stones showing the advancement of interest, enterprise and en- 

 ergy manifested at this particularly busy season. To those not 

 there to participate, we can hardly give suitable expression 

 descriptive of the enthusiasm, joy and pleasure manifested by 

 those present. At the experiment farm, the hearty and cordial 

 reception given the members and their friends by Prof. Porter 

 and his able corps of assistants, was by all appreciated. The 

 fruits exhibited were the finest ever shown at a summer meeting; 

 especially so were the strawberries; and particular mention 

 should be made of the new seedlings from the grounds of Messrs. 

 Wm. Lyons, of Eichfield, and J. C. Kramer, of La Crescent; 

 kinds that will be of great value to our farmers, gardeners and 

 fruit growers. 



Doubtless you have all heard of stories that were considered 

 fishy, but the largest story in this direction is on great yields of 

 strawberries recorded the past season. Mr. Kramer's new seed- 

 ling, the Princess, which by actual measurement of ground and 

 count of bushels, produced 825 bushels per acre, estimated by 

 the square rod. This, however, is not quite up to the story told 

 by an Eastern amateur horticulturist, of what he has accom- 

 plished with the Jessie, 43 quarts picked from 12 plants, or at 

 the rate of 1,845 bushels per acre, the largest berry measuring 

 91 inches in circumference! 



Awards of premiums being made the ladies present took pos- 

 session of the fruit and prepared it for the table, which with the 

 Jersey cream and cake contributed, made a very luxurious and 



