416 AKNUAL EEPORT 



EXPERIMEll^T STATION AT LA CRESCEXT. 

 By J. S. Harris J Superintendent. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the State Horticultural Society : 



Like the most of the parties you have designated as managers 

 of experimental stations, I am not a commercial nurseryman and 

 therefore my opportunities for securing trees and plants for the 

 j)urpose of testing them are somewhat limited; but my judgment 

 of the merit of varieties I do place on trial would not naturally be 

 warped in their favor through consideration of the amount of 

 money that can be made out of them. One of the prime reasons 

 that has prompted me to advocate the establishment of these 

 stations was that when any variety of fruit had been sufficiently 

 tested in these stations to warrant its general planting and culti- 

 vation its merits would be very generally known to the i^ublic 

 and it would be practically out of the power of any one individ- 

 ual to get possession of the entire stock and make a fortune out 

 of its sales. 



Most of the individuals managing these stations are laboring » 

 under serious difficulties and perhaps the greatest is that they 

 are not financially able to devote their whole time and attention 

 to a work the results of which are so doubtful and the money 

 value of which is so uncertain. While I am prepared to test 

 the quality, adaptability and hardiness for my location of every 

 new seedling and unknown variety that comes up I find it very 

 difficult and sometimes expensive to get hold of them. 



I have desired to make a specialty of the collecting, testing 

 and improvement of the native plum, and to this end have re- 

 peatedly through the Farm, Stock and Home requested parties 

 having or knowing of varieties of merit to send me rooted 

 sprouts or scions and as far as possible samples of the fruit, or at 

 least to notify me where they might be found, but have not thus 

 far realized my expectations. As the plum very generally 

 failed to fruit last season in most localities it was an unfavorable 

 year for the work. 



Among the varieties I have had under cultivation long enough 

 to get into bearing last year, the Dakota frnited best, probably 

 because it came into blossom two or three days later than most 

 other varieties. I have added to my list of varieties during the 

 year one variety from Blue Earth county, two from Houston 



