AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 91 



The season was a favorable one for young stock, and all varie- 

 ties made a vigorous healthy growth. None of them were taken 

 up in the fall, and as the present winter is a very severe one with 

 little snow, the test as to hardiness will be a crucial one. 



The following varieties of Russian plums, purchased from the 

 Iowa Agricultural College in 1891, were also placed on trial the 

 present season : Bessarabian, Early Red, Hungarian Prune, 

 Moldavka, Orel Sweet, Varonesch Yellow, White Nicholas, 

 Nos. 19, 20 and 23 Orel; besides these one tree each of Cheney, 

 Wolf and and Wyant from the same source and Rollingstone from 

 O- M. Lord, Minnesota City, Minn. All of these last named 

 sorts are valuable varieties of the hardy native Prunus Americana, 

 originating in the trying climate of the northwest. It is our pur- 

 pose to increase the list of plums next season and if possible by 

 crossing some of these very hardy sorts with others of higher 

 quality secure desirable sorts which shall rank with Moore's 

 Arctic as a profitable variety for this region and possibly shall 

 not require the winter protection demanded by that variety. 



There is little doubt that with proper management small fruits 

 might be made even more profitable in the northern parts of the 

 State than in the southern, as at this latitude the crop ripens so 

 late as to escape more southern competition. With this end in 

 view, a number of varieties are being introduced. Some are 

 already grown at Houlton — notably the Houghton gooseberry and 

 the Agawam blackberry, but so far as I can ascertain little is 

 being done even in the home gardens of northern Maine toward 

 raising other small fruits. 



Last spring plants of Windom and Lucretia Dewberry and of 

 North Star Currant were sent to Perham for trial. Others will 

 be sent later. 



At the present time an effort is being made to determine the 

 exact status of the fruit industry in the State, especially in the 

 more southern portions, that we may have a basis for intelligent 

 work in developing this line of work. A report on this subject 

 will be published during the ensuing year. 



