HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 329 



Now that so many are growing raspberries and blackberries I 

 would suggest that you get your blacksmith to make a large crooked 

 knife from a flat file and put it on to a hoe handle. Cut off to four 

 feet long with which to trim out the old canes. It saves the back 

 and does more rapid and better work. For trimming shade trees 

 the best thing iu the world is. a large chisel. Have it made of 

 good steel by a blacksmith, four to eight inches loog and from one 

 fourth to three-eighths inches thick, with a heavy shank and a 

 large collar. Fit this on to a pine stick two inches in diameter and 

 five or six feet long. You can have two or three of different 

 lengths. They should have a heavy ferrule on each end. Put 

 your chisel into one end and hold it at the base of the limb you 

 wish to cut off, and have an assistant strike the other end with a 

 maul. You will be surprised at the ease, rapidity and excellence 

 of the work you can do. The best time is the latter part of June. 



Without any opportunity to confer with the other members of 

 this committee I will not venture to cover more ground than I have 

 lest I intrude on their domain. 



REPORT ON FEUIT BLOSSOMS. EXTRACTS FROM MY 



DIARY OF 1889. 



By J. S. Harris, La Crescent, Minn. 



April 18th. Some bloom open on the wild strawberries, and the 

 leaves are beginning to expand upon the crab apple trees. 



April 22d. One Juneberry tree has considerable bloom open, 

 another about 100 feet from it has none open, although apparently 

 in a more sheltered location. Weather warm, windy and mostly 

 cloudy. 



April 23d. One variety of native plum is in bloom, also red cur- 

 rants and gooseberry. The Juneberry tree is very full of bloom. 

 Warm and cloudy, p. m. showery, one heavy shower. 



April 21th. Cloudy and rather cold, light rain. Vegetation is 

 making no perceptible change. Wind Northwest. 



April 2oth. White frost. 



April 26th. Somewhat warmer towards evening. Cheney plums 

 are beginning to open their bloom. 



April 27th. Bloom is expanding freely on the Cheney plum, al- 

 though the day is mostly cloudy with a cold wind blowing from 

 the North West. An examination shows that the blossoms are 

 well supplied with strong stamens well covered with pollen sacks 

 Some wild varieties are beginning to show a little bloom open. 



April 28th. Some bloom on the Rollingstone plum. Cloudy, 

 wind Northwest. 



April 30th. A few blossoms are open on the DeSota plum. Roll- 

 ingstone is coming out fast. Hard frost this morning. Towards 



