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248 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Compton’s No.3; we have discarded on account of blight the Hys- 
lop, Transcendent, Beeche’s Sweet, Lake Winter, St. Anthony Red 
and Gen. Grant and are holding the Early Strawberry for farther 
trial, but think it, too, will have to go. 
We had quite a number of pear trees bloom, but the frost took all 
the fruit, and my best trees of these Russian pears are giving out 
without bearing a specimen fruit. I have about concluded to 
declare pear growing a failure here. 
I had some hopes of the Russian plums but after some ten year’s 
trial of several of the best varieties selected by Prof. Budd, I dont 
believe they are worth the ground they occupy. In grubbing out 
the trees this spring, I found them all nearly dead. As they are not 
hardy, are unproductive and in fruit inferior to our best natives, I 
believe that we have no use for the Russian plums in Minnesota. 
I still have some hopes of the Russian cherries; I had six or seven 
varieties heavily loaded, but the frost took aboutall. I have some 
723 Oriel that are now ripe. 
I have cut down all of the Russian poplars, as none of them were 
as promising as the cottonwood for this section. 
The laurel leaved willow (Salix laurifolia) has developed a species 
of blight that I am afraid will do damage to other varieties of trees 
as well. Be careful how you plant it. 
Plums will be about one-fourth of a crop. Desota is ahead as to 
productiveness. I can recommend the Wolf plum, both the cling- 
stone and freestone varieties,as being a most profitable plum, especi- 
ally for market. Owing to May frosts, small fruits have fared but 
little, if any, better than the tree fruits. Wesupposed that the grapes 
were ruined entirely, but most of them have made a second growth 
and are now in bloom and witha late fall we may get a few grapes 
yet. The Worden gave the best satisfaction, followed by the Con- 
cord and Moore’s Early. Our soil is too black for best results with 
the grape. 
Owing to the dry season of 1894, our new strawberry plantation did 
not produce as many plants as was desirable, and for the same rea- 
son, probably, most varieties are less productive this season than 
usual, although the plants wintered in good condition. Herein we 
learn a valuable lesson; we should choose those varieties that will 
form fruit buds in a dry season as well as make plenty of runners, 
or new plants. The best varieties I have in this respect are the Be- 
derwood and the Crescent, the Bederwood taking the lead,as they 
attend strictly to business. Warfield comes in third or fourth with 
the Cumberland at the foot. Capt. Jack is vigorous and productive, 
but the fruit seems inclined to sunscald. In old beds the bloom 
was about all killed by frost, while those set the spring of ’94 were 
not in bloom and were not injured so badly, and we are now doing 
our first picking. 
The currant will be from one-third to one-half a crop, Stewart 
Seedling being very poor;the North Star, Victoria and Red Dutch be- 
ing a little better; the Long Bunch Holland and White Grape being 
the best. 
In gooseberries, the Houghton is ahead for productiveness. 
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