76 ANNUAL REPORT 



any. He had been to Mr. Cook's place and examined the 

 Windom and it resembled the berry just referred to. He had 

 raised some fruit last year but found it a shy bearer. They 

 might do better if covered until late in the spring. 



Mr. Harris. I think the dewberry is a native over every part 

 of Minnesota. There are patches of them in Houston county 

 and have been for thirty -five years; in that time there have been 

 three crops. This pavSt year the crop was immense; they were 

 laden down with fruit. We have two distinct species. Occa- 

 sionally we find a plant a little different from those of Mr. Cook, 

 but the majority have the same leaf and habit of growth. The 

 Windom does not branch as much as the common, wild variety; 

 Mr. Cook has fruited it every year with one exception. While 

 distinct, it is a variety of the same species as the other. The 

 trouble seems to be there is only an occasional crop produced. 



Mr Pearse. I do not think the Windom is a native, but a 

 foreign variety. It was no doubt brought here by the Mennon- 

 ites. 



Mr. Harris. Mr. Cook tells me the Windom has been grown 

 in Cottonwood county from its earliest settlement and was 

 brought there from Iowa. It has been cultivated so long it is 

 difficult to ascertain its exact origin. 



Mr. Sias. The man who introduced it would not state where 

 he got it, but he came to Minnesota from Iowa, and Mr. Cook 

 imformed me that it probably came from there. Mr. Cook i& 

 among the Menuonites and I am inclined to think it is a Eussian 

 variety, it is so different from the wild ones in Minnesota. There 

 are thousands of wild ones on my place but they have never 

 borne any good crops as yet. 



Mr. Eidout. Some six years ago a tree peddler came to my 

 place and induced me to believe that dewberries would be a good 

 thing to try in this climate and to buy about a thousand plants. 

 He said they were the best variety to set. I let them grow for 

 two years and got them pretty well scattered, and if I was to 

 take my choice of them or the Canada thistles I would take the 

 latter, for they have taken possession of my garden. (Laugh- 

 ter.) 



Mr. Urie. I think I was pretty near correct in my statement, 

 if there has only been three good crops raised here in thirty-five 

 years. The soil here is not adapted to them, nor the climate. It 

 is a southern plant and belongs to the South. There it grows in 

 great profusion. Plant it on a rock and I think you will suc- 

 ceed, but not on good soil. 



