268 ANNUAL REPORT 



Our spring at Owatonna was remarkably late, wet and cold. 

 We had to mud in everything that we planted, but it was favor- 

 able to the starting of trees. The crop of fruit through that sec- 

 tion I think was generally fair of the different varieties. 



Thejgrape crop, as far as I know, was rather late; too late to 

 ripen the leading varieties. Janesville ripened but was so poor 

 that we concluded at our house that we'd rather buy good grapes 

 than to raise the Janesville. 



In regard to the apple crop, there was an abundant bloom 

 and a fair starting of apples; but insects and hard winds dimin- 

 ished the crop wonderfully. Apples ripened later than com- 

 monly, ^so they kept better than usual. I rais^ two or three 

 hundred bushels of Duchess, and might have raised a good many 

 more only for the depredations of insects. 



I think^the insect that did the greatest harm is what they call 

 the apple gouger, or the plum curculio; I think the two are very 

 similar; they sting the apples early in the season. Some time 

 along in the fore part of July I examined the apples carefully 

 and found the little egg, which had been laid in the side of the 

 apple, had hatched into a worm which was working its way 

 through the apple at that time. I found some of the worms 

 about the size of a pin, perhaps a sixth of an inch in length. 

 But one had to look pretty sharp to find them. Three or four 

 weeks later I gathered some si)ecimens and thought I would 

 send them to the^agricultural college for inspection. But on in- 

 vestigation found the worms were gone. 



I intended to spray my trees in the spring, as I had been 

 troubled the same way the year before. I sent to Chicago for a 

 spraying apparatus but it arrived too late. I had hoped that as 

 the crop was light the preceding year there would not be enough 

 insects to go around. I thought the apples would not all get 

 stung, from the fact that a number of my large crab apple trees 

 were full of blossoms. But I regret to say I found there was 

 enough to go all around the whole field, and I found many of the 

 apples had three or four punctures apiece. I have concluded 

 we can not get them thinned out by not raising a crop of apples; 

 we must try something else. I shall try spraying another year. 



I don't know as there is anything else that I should take up 

 your time with except to refer to the mistake that was made in 

 electing me one of your vice presidents. One method this Society 

 has adopted for communication with all sections of the state, is 



