366 ANNUAL REPORT 



planting out in gardens, but whether from deficiency in pollen 

 when planted in small quantities, uncongenial companionship of 

 the ubiquitous prairie grass and weeds, lack of sufficient protec- 

 tion, or from all these causes combined, the results have not encour- 

 aged the planter. The trees would blossom freely, the fruit set 

 thickly, but in a night the fruit would puff out like bladders and 

 very few plums come to maturity. In Ontario we ascribed this to 

 late spring frosts. The writer of this last spring planted a plum 

 patch of about 800 trees — 200 natives, interspersed with selections 

 from Minnesota, Dakota, "Wisconsin and Iowa, and protected by a 

 belt of young timber on west and south sides, and is hoping for 

 better results. There are yellow, blue and red plums of good size 

 and excellent quality, and while, perhaps, in a state of cultivation 

 they may not sustain their reputation, by mixing up with others 

 partially broken from the wild type, hybridization will so affect 

 their offspring that we may reasonably hope in a few years to get 

 kinds of this delicious fruit unexcelled by those of more favored 

 climes. 



The choke cherry, red cherry, and sand cherry are everywhere 

 to be found, but that enemy of the Prunus family, the black knot 

 is thinning their ranks; the choke cherry more especially seeming 

 to be more effected by it than any other— hence the wild cherries 

 had better be kept away from experimental plum patches. The 

 sand cherry may be useful dwarf roots on which to raise Ost- 

 treim cherry bushes. A very common blue berry called "Laska- 

 toon" abounds. From its leaf, bark and habits of growth it resem- 

 bles,if it is not identical with,the dwarf juneberry of the nurserymen, 

 I hope next season to fruit the juneberry and will then speak more 

 definitely as to their identity. The high bush cranberry in many 

 localities is found in the woods and is very prolific. Wild rasp- 

 berries, whose stolons endeavor to take possession of all their sur- 

 roundings, but whose fruit though No. 1 is not in sufficient quan- 

 tity to encourage cultivation, may in some of their sports furnish 

 us with kinds that wMl be second to none. The red and black cur- 

 rant, as well as the gooseberry, have succeeded best in our gardens 

 of any of the wild fruits, but none of them have given fruit of 

 quality and quantity sufficient to deter us from planting improved 

 cultivated kinds. The wild strawberry of the prairie in flavor 

 and quality excels all the overgrown aspirants for public approval, 

 but their day is gone and the cultivated monstrosities must take 

 their place. So far our Dewberries have been left undisturbed in 

 their native haunts except by children — non-productiveness has 

 almost hidden their existence. The wild grape, of fair quality, 

 abounds along the banks of the rivers. This is the land of the 

 hazel. There appear to be two species — one growing to a moderate 

 size with large nuts often growing singly — the other a dwarf, bear- 

 ing its fruits in clusters. I have seen hazel nuts here equal to the 

 best English filberts. The "Mannyberry," a blue berry enveloping 

 an oblong stone seed vessel of good size and flavor not to be des- 

 pised seems only to be relished by the children in their pic-nic 

 excursions. So far as I know the apple family is confined to the 



