238 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
REPORT ON GENERAL FRUITS. 
BY R. C. KEEL, ROCHESTER, MINN. 
My. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:—I find that the interest in horti- 
culture inthe southern part of Minnesota is increasing more this last 
year than inany previous year. The plantsand bushes came through last 
winter in good condition, and we would have had a grand crop of small 
fruit if the late frost in the spring had not destroyed a large amount of 
the strawberry blossoms and some of the blackberry blossoms on low land: 
but after all we had a fair crop and good prices. Of strawberries we have 
tried nearly everything, but have for the last few years been growing 
mostly Crescent and Bubach, fertilized with Cap. Jack and Jessie. 
The Jessie was hurt more by frost last spring than any other variety, but 
it is one of the best fertilizers we have and will pay to plant, even if we 
don’t get any fruit from it. However last spring there was more land set 
out to Haverland and Warfield No. 2 than any other sorts. Those planted 
the previous year of these two varieties bore an abundant crop of fine 
fruit. Mr. M. W. Cook, of our city, who is cultivating about fourteen 
acres of strawberries, is planting more of these varieties than any other, 
and I do not think that anything better can be grown. Of black rasp- 
berries we have the Ohio, Tyler, Doolittle and Gregg. The Doolittle is 
the best in quality and as productive as any of them, but the berries are 
small and do not sell as readily as the Ohio; hence we are planting more 
of the Ohio than any other. The Gregg are the largest of them all, but 
is too tender to grow without winter protection and does not turn out as 
well as some of the other varieties. Our crop of blackberries was good, 
except on the low land. The Ancient Briton are doing better than any 
other, but to lengthen the season we have the Snyder and Stone’s Hardy. 
Currants were so plenty that they sold for five cents per quart. Grapes 
were the best crop we ever raised, both in quantity and quality, and all of 
them got ripe before we had any frost to destroy them. The varieties we 
are growing are mostly the Delaware, Concord, Worden and some of the 
Rogers. The Worden and Delaware are the most productive. My 
grapery contains five acres but has never done very well as yet; for while 
almost any man can grow strawberries and other small fruit, I find that for 
growing grapes lots of experience and skill are required. All my vines are 
twelve or fourteen years old, but have never been trimmed the way they 
ought to be. Last fall I started new vines, and shall train and trim them 
in a proper way. I have a row of Mulberry bushes that are fourteen or 
fifteen years old. They seem to be very hardy and make a good windbreak; 
have borne fruit for the last four or five years, but the fruit is not worth 
picking. 
Of red raspberries we have Turner, Brandywine, Philadelphia, Cuth- 
bert and Shaffer’s Colossal. The Turner has for a number of years been 
our old stand-by, but the Brandywine are now gaining ground, and are 
considered the best and most productive. The Shaffer’s is a good berry 
‘and very productive, but on account of their color they don’t sell well. 
