196 ANNUAL REPORT 



President Elliot. I would like to ask if under such conditions 

 as we have here, Mr Wright would advise people to uphold the 

 growing of small fruits for a home market, and then dispose of 

 any surplus they may have? 



Mr. Wright. I think I would, because you have a home market. 

 We have no home market; we depend entirely upon Chicago or the 

 Northern markets. 



Mr. Cutler. What kinds of strawberries are most successful? 



Mr. Wright. We have aboat one hundred kinds. The Wilson 

 has failed, from some cause. You can't grow a crop of Wilson 

 strawberries any more. It has been succeeded by the Crescent, 

 which is a very prolific bearer and makes a great growth. 



Mr. J. A. Sampson. What do you use with the Crescent as fer- 

 tilizer? 



Mr. Wright. One gentleman, who has been very successful for 

 several years, fertilizes only with the Sucker State. He plants the 

 Sucker State as a fertilizer with the Crescent. 



The following paper was then read by the Secretary : 



GEO WING AND FORCING HARDY AND TENDER ROSES 

 By W. A. Hariman, of Minneapolis. 



Roses are not so difficult to grow as many are led to believe; 

 good care and attention, are the most essential points for success- 

 ful growing of roses. Tea roses being the most important of win- 

 ter blooming roses, we will offer the following suggestions for their 

 culture, which may be of benefit to beginners, whether grown for 

 pleasure or profit. We will start with propagation. 



The propagating bed should be in a warm, shady place; give the 

 boards a thick coat of whitewash, put on about two and one-half 

 inches of clean, coarse, sharp sand, pack it down firm and smooth; 

 then water evenly and thoroughly. 



The best wood for propagating, is that of young, half ripe shoots 

 from which the buds have just been cut; when they are scarce, the 

 blind shoots will do. Many growers object to blind wood, claiming 

 that like produces like. We make thousands of cuttings annually, 

 from blind wood, and find the plants as prolific as when grown 

 from flowering shoots. The cuttings should be made with two 

 eyes, as these produce the strongest plants; place about an inch 

 apart in the sand in the row; press the sand firmly about the cut- 

 tings, and give them a good watering. In after watering, the prop- 

 agator must use his own judgment, being governed by the atmos- 

 pheric condition of the house. Syringe every bright morning, in 

 very warm weather; a light showering in the afternoon will be 

 beneficial; in wet weather omit the syringing. The night temper- 

 ature should be 56° and in the day 70°. Bottom heat is not abso- 



