aS eee ee ase a Te. fe * @-*, fo 
EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 241 
TREE FRUITS.—Russian cherries are many of them fruiting well 
for the first time and the outcome will be watched with interest. The 
Wragg cherry, at this writing, June 17th, is ripening its fruit, which 
is large and of good quality. The birds seem especially fond of it, 
and it has to be protected from their ravages. Our plums were never 
more heavily laden with fruit at this time of year, and all varieties 
promise good crops. In this connection, it isinteresting to note that 
the dry weather of last season caused many small plum trees to 
flower this spring by checking their growth. This was quite con- 
spicuous in a block of about 700 yearling plum grafts, many of 
which set fruit this year. 
Most of our apple trees produced few blooms, but those set very 
well,and some varieties, notably those of the Duchess type, will bear 
quite a little fruit. The orchards never looked thriftier at this season 
of the year than they do now, and they are making a strong and 
rapid growth. The grounds of this experiment station never looked 
better, and each year adds to the beauty of the place by the growth 
of ornamental specimens and by generalimprovements. It is fast 
assuming the park-like appearance so desirable in grounds of this 
character. Three new buildings are to be erected this year at a total 
cost of about $65,000, and a reasonable sum will also be appropriated 
for improving the grounds adjacent tothem. The labelling of the 
ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants with their common 
and botanical names is being made more complete, and has now 
come to be looked upon as a necessity. 
VEGETABLES.— The experiments with vegetables this year are be- 
ing carried on in amore complete way than usual. Variety tests 
are being made ona considerable scale with potatoes, tomatoes 
celery and onions and with other vegetables in a small way. The, 
experiments with potatoes also embrace the use of fungicides to 
prevent rot and blight; those with tomatoes, the use of fungicides 
to prevent tomato rot; those with celery are experiments in surface 
and sub-irrigation and those with onions experiments in transplant- 
ing onions. The experiments with varieties of potatoes is being 
carried on simultaneously in McLeod and Lyon counties, and the 
result will, therefore, be of much value and interest. 
Experiments are also being madein the use of several different 
kinds of fertilizers. The results from the application of commercial 
fertilizers has not generally justified their use on an extensive scale 
in this section of the country. This year a special experiment was 
made in the use of nitrate of soda for spinach with excellent results. 
Fertilizers containing a _ large 
amount of the nitrates have long 
been looked upon in the older sec- & 
tions of the country as being espec- 
ially valuable for early spring use 
on leaf crops. Our grain crops in 
this section, while increasing in the 
straw, have made little corres- 
ponding increase in the yield of 
grain. Applied to spinach at the 
