A topic of great interest was the everbearing strawberry, which persistently bobbed up every now and then in interesting discussion.  Brother Gardner, with his practical experience, was right at hand, a leader and authority on this fruit.  Clarence Wedge, who always contended that the Progressive was away ahead of all others, was endorsed by every man that grew them in this convention, by a vote on merit of varieties.

Reports from the different districts showed a heavy rainfall throughout the season, resulting in rust and scab.  Sprayed orchards showed better results than others.  Small fruits were abundant and good.

Shortly after four o’clock Wednesday afternoon automobiles drew up and took delegates and members over beautiful Decorah, stopping at Symond’s greenhouses, and on through the most beautiful park in this section, then to the palatial residence of John Harter, where a very bountiful banquet was enjoyed.

During convention Secretary Black’s and Treasurer True’s reports showed the society in flourishing condition.

All officers were re-elected, place of next meeting to be chosen later by the executive committee.

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Handling raspberries.—­In 1911 the Government investigators made comparative tests of the keeping qualities of carefully handled raspberries and commercially handled raspberries.  Several lots of each kind were held in an ice car for varying periods and then examined for the percentage of decay.  Other lots were held a day after being withdrawn from the refrigerator car and then examined.  The results are most significant.

After 4 days in the ice car it was found that the carefully handled berries showed only 0.4 per cent. decay, while the commercially handled fruit had 4.6 per cent.  After 8 days in the car the difference was vastly greater.  The carefully handled fruit showed only 2.2 per cent. decay, but with the commercially handled this percentage had risen to 26.7, or more than one-quarter of the entire shipment.  When the fruit was examined a day after it had been taken out of the ice car, the evidence was equally strong in favor of careful handling.  Carefully handled fruit that had remained 4 days in the car was found a day after its withdrawal to show only 1 per cent. of decay against 17.5 per cent. in commercially handled berries.  Carefully handled fruit left in the car 8 days, and then held one day, showed only 8.1 per cent. of decay as against 47.6 per cent. in commercially handled fruit.

The following year experiments were made with actual shipments instead of with the stationary refrigerator car, and the results confirmed previous conclusions.  It was found, for example, that there was less decay in the carefully handled berries at the end of 8 days than in the commercially handled berries at the end of 4.  Carefully handled fruit that was 4 days in transit, and had then been held one day after withdrawal from the refrigerator car showed less than 1 per cent of decay, whereas commercially handled berries subjected to the same test showed nearly 10 per cent.