EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 139 
Tam making a specialty of raising small fruit seedlings and have now 
on hand 1,600 raspberry seedlings two years old from seed of the Schaffer 
and Cuthbert, 400 small seedlings of the Marlboro, 400 small seedlings of 
the Souhegan; 50 gooseberry seedlings from the Triumph and Smith’s 
Improved; 2,000 strawberry seedlings from Haverland and Warfield and 
qnite a quanity of blackberry seed for germination the coming spring. 
Last summer one hundred and fifty strawberry seedling fruited but as 
none of them showed more merit than many we now have they were dis- 
carded as I do not want to needlessly multiply varieties. 
PLUMS. 
Our native plum in its wild state is fast disappearing but the number 
of varieties that can be profitably cultivated is increasing. The outlook 
for improvement in this fruit is very encouraging. We have twenty-seven 
named varieties on trial. We are also making a specialty of raising seed- 
ling varieties and have some good seedlings from our best kinds. From 
these I have selected fifty of the most promising appearance for fruiting. 
Three pecks of plum pits of our best kinds were sown last fall. The 
Russian plums seem to be very hardy. The Arab is a variety of much 
excellence that fruited the past season with Mr. Dewain Cook, of Windom. 
It is of fully as good quality as the Lombard. 
RUSSIAN CHERRIES. 
These have not yet fruited at the station. Wehave had them three 
years and the most of them appear to be perfectly hardy. I consider them 
very promising. 
SAND CHERRY. (Prunus Pumila.) 
After very carefully observing this fruit I have become enthusiastic as 
to its future value. Itvaries greatly in its native state and even more 
under cultivation. In some of the most rigorous parts of our state it fruits 
regularly and heavily. The fruit is of a large size and generally quite 
astringent,but when cooked it makes a most excellent sauce. Some of the . 
fruit is of a fairly good quality to eat out of hand. <A peculiarity of this 
fruit is that it readily buds on our native plum forming pretty weeping 
trees that are very fruitful. 
TRIAL STATIONS. 
One year ago I made a proposition to you regarding the reorganization 
of the experiment stations of this society. The matter was favorably re- 
ceived and the executive committee was instructed to arrange the details 
of the plan. This matter has been attended to and the stations ap- 
pointed. The work was necessarily delayed until the season was too far 
advanced for much to be done this year, but I think the plan adopted has 
increased the efficiency of the work,and that we will in the future see 
much good resulting from a closer union of interests. Some mistakes 
have been made which we will try to avoid in the future. It has been my 
intention to establish these stations so as to cover the widest extent of 
territory and a variety of conditions. In this I think we are reasonably 
successful, but there are still two sections of the state whose peculiar 
conditions are not represented—the great northeastern portion and the 
northern tiers of counties. Trial stations will be established in these lo- 
calities as soon as suitable persons are found to conduct them. 
