GENERAL FRUITS. 247 



The general condition of fruit raising in our part of the first congres- 

 sional district has so far been far below the needs of the marl^et. The 

 only surplus that has ever been shipped from our section has been of that 

 much maligned fruit, the Minnesota apple. The crop of small fruits, even 

 in our best seasons, has not been sufficient for the home demand. The burn- 

 ing drouths have discouraged many growers, and it may be true that there 

 is now a smaller acreage devoted to berries than there was five years ago. 

 The Crescent, Wilson and Glendale, in about the order named, furnish the 

 bulk of the strawberry crop. Prices received by the grower the past 

 season were about 10 cts., which, considering the excellent crop, must 

 have yielded a fair profit. Kaspberries were very profitable, the crop and 

 prices being of the best. Scarcely any blackberries are raised and no 

 cherries. Plums were a complete failure on account of wet weather at 

 blossoming time and general overbearing the previous season. Is it not 

 strange that no one steps in to supply the demand for a high grade native 

 plum? There is no fruit raised at my place that is so eagerly called for 

 as my small surplus of Desota plums. Grapes were not a full crop. It 

 proved to be one of the few seasons that ripen the Concord to perfection; 

 we received five and six cents for them and eight cents for Delawares, 

 the latter being most in demand. If we can ever persuade the Moore's 

 Early to yield heavily, it will be the variety for the market, as it can be 

 marketed before the New York fruit comes on, and its fine large berries 

 please the eye and disappoint not the palate of the buyer. 



The feature of our fruit crop this year was a phenomenal crop of apples, 

 and the glory of it lay in the fact that several carloads of our beautiful 

 Duchess were shipped to the south, where for once they had the privilege 

 of eating apples free from worm or scab. Price paid for Duchess at Albert 

 Lea was 50 cents per bushel. The Wealthy for the first time appeared on 

 our market in quantity; it was" well appreciated and brought from $1.00 

 to $1.50 per bushel. All varieties of Sibeyan blood were so badly affected 

 in foliage and fruit by scab that they were nearly a failure. 



A great loss to raisers and consumers results from the careless hand- 

 ling of summer apples. Our merchants were quite enterprising in at- 

 tempting a reform in this particular. Bushel baskets were sent out to 

 the orchards to be filled there, and one or two car loads were shipped in 

 baskets, thus avoiding any handling of the fruit from the orchard to the 

 consumer. But even by this method there was such rough handling and 

 dropping of fruit, and fast driving without springs, as resulted in very 

 serious loss in value. As usual, also, a large share were brought to market 

 in that most abominable of all packages, the common grain sack. This 

 ignorant and careless handling diminished the value of our apple crop by 

 at least 25 per cent. 



At the Freeborn county fair there was one of the finest lot of apples 

 ever brought together in the West. The total bulk of fruit shown, 

 amounting to nearly thirty bushels, included fifty-four varieties. The 

 entries numbered 121, and were made by thirty-nine exhibitors. It was 

 made in a separate pavilion and attracted as much or more attention than 

 any other feature of the very successful fair. 



As was stated at the beginning of this report, our fruit raisers are not 

 measuring up to the needs of the market or their own opportunities; but 

 it is hoped that the past favorable season, the fine exhibits at the fairs 

 and the influence of- horticultural meetings will give an impetus in the 

 direction of more and better home-grown fruits. 



