Judging from present conditions, we may get a pretty good crop of fruits.  The time for the late spring frosts passed by without doing any harm.  The weather during blooming was favorable for setting a good crop of apples and plums.  The grapes, too, show up well and promise a good crop, and the strawberries and currants are doing splendidly.

Jeffers Trial Station.

DEWAIN COOK, SUPT.

June 13.—­Plums—­Much rainy weather during the blooming period was undoubtedly the main reason why the plum crop of 1916 will not amount to very much.  Only a few of the Americana have set any fruit whatever.  However, the Terry and the Wyants carry considerable fruit.

Of the Japanese hybrids the B.A.Q. and Emerald have set some fruit—­also the Stella.  Of the hybrid plums originating at the Minnesota State Fruit-Breeding Farm there are only a few scattering specimens on any of them.  Most of them have set no fruit whatever.  Minn.  No. 6, one tree, is in a dying condition from winter-killing.

Hansen’s hybrids have mostly set some fruit, but not freely.  The Hanska, Toka, Opata and Wohanka are among those varieties making the best showing of fruit.

While in a general way we consider the rains during the blooming period responsible for the almost failure of the 1916 plum crop, but, to be a little more specific, the blight of the plum bloom, or rather the brown rot fungus, was more generally prevalent and more generally destructive than at any previous season.  As for the fungous disease known as plum pocket, we have not seen one this season.  It has been entirely absent.

As for spraying to control the brown rot fungus, we have and are doing the best we know.  With the exception of about twenty-five large plum trees that we have made into a hog pasture and could not get at very well with our gasoline spraying outfit, we sprayed about all our plum trees (and other fruit trees as well) twice before blooming, once just as the fruit buds began to swell and again just before they bloomed, with lime-sulphur solution.  We are now spraying the third time, adding arsenate of lead to the lime-sulphur.

Of grapes sent me from our State Fruit-Breeding Farm all varieties are looking fine.  The Beta we gave no winter protection, but all of the others we covered with strawy manure.  We did this as all the other varieties winter-killed the first winter after planting, and we did not like to take any chances with them.

Minn.  No. 3 strawberry is doing itself proud.  We consider it the best all round variety we have ever grown and are planting almost exclusively on our own farm.

The everbearing Minn. 1017 continues to hold place as first best.  We set out some 400 plants of this variety this spring, and they are making runners freely.  Judging from last season, we expect a large crop of fine fruit from them next September, as well as a great quantity of new plants.