Premiums on Flowers. An advance copy of the list of premiums 

 to be offered on flowers at the coming summer meeting of the society is 

 to be found in this number, and prospective exhibitors will see the wisdom 

 of consulting this list promptly and acting accordingly. 



Note Especially in this number first the article on "growing vege- 

 tables this year" on page 219, on "economy in seed potatoes" on page 221, 

 the new spraying calendar on pages 222-5. These are articles of special 

 importance bearing on the extraordinary efforts being made this year to 

 increase the vegetable and fruit products of the country. No true horti- 

 culturist should fail to plant a large garden, and no true fruit grower 

 should fail to spray the orchard and other fruit plants most thoroughly, 

 following for this purpose the calendar provided herein. 



Japanese Barberry Harmless.— The common barberry, Berberis vul- 

 garis, and its commercial varieties, together with some of the less common 

 species of barberry, are unquestionably instrumental in spreading rust. 



However, the Japanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii, has no connection 

 as far as has been determined with the wheat rust. It has been tried at 

 this station, as well as at many others, for a number of years, and it has 

 never been found to have rust. In any law providing for the eradication of 

 barberry, the Japanese barberry should be exempt. — E.. C. Stakman, Head 

 of Section of Plant Pathology, University Farm. 



Have You a Vegetable Garden? — There are extraordinary reasons 

 why every member of the Horticultural Society should do his part in grow- 

 ing a crop of vegetables large enough for home consumption and some to 

 spare for the neighborhood and plenty to can for a two years' supply. It is 

 not too late when this is received for you to plant a garden, and especially 

 in growing vegetables for use for next fall and winter. On other pages in 

 this monthly you will find practical articles on vegetable gardening, some 

 sound advice from experts in this field, also something about potato growing. 

 We rely upon the members of the Society to do their share in this real 

 national crisis. 



Visit the Fruit-Breeding Farm. — A good time to visit the State Fruit- 

 Breeding Farm, at Zumbra Heights, is in the strawberry season, somewhere 

 about the middle of June. At that time there will be a large field of No. 3 

 strawberries in fruitage and considerable quantities of a large number of 

 other varieties of strawberries, both June-bearing and everbearing. There 

 will be very many other things besides this of interest to be seen; scores 

 of thousands of apple and plum trees will have blossomed and set fruit as 

 well as quantities of all other varieties of fruits that can not be raised in 

 this climate. The visitor will be especially interested to see crosses of the 

 plum and apricot which we are informed should be in fruitage this year. 

 Take a half day off and visit the Fruit-Breeding Farm. It can be reached 

 by Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad from Minneapolis to Zumbra Heights 

 station. The farm is about one-quarter mile south of the station. 



Plum Tree Premiums Destroyed By Mice. — Something over one hun- 

 dred members of the society we know are very much disappointed not to 

 receive the plum premium, No. 19, a cross of Compass Cherry and the 

 Climax plum, offered to our membership as one of the plant premiums this 

 spring. These trees were carefully dug and prooerly heeled in for winter 

 keeping in the storage cellar at the Fruit-Breeding Farm. Usual precau- 

 tions were taken against injury by mice, bnt unfortunately they were not 

 successful, as all of this lot of trees had the bark eaten off by mice and 

 were entirely destroyed. Supt. Haralson did the best he could under the cir- 



