[Illustration:  A productive strawberry field at P. H. Peterson’s Atwater fruit farm.]

All report none or very little blight this year.  Spraying is not done generally, but those few who do it are getting results.  In our own orchard, which was sprayed twice last spring, we have not found one wormy apple.

Plums, none or a very few.  Mr. Bjornberg, of Willmar, reports the Surprise plum a full crop, others a total failure.  Compass cherry bore a fair crop, but with me it rotted badly, as also did Prof.  Hansen’s plums, Sapa and Opata.

Grapes:  Not many are grown except the Beta, which bore a heavy crop in spite of the late spring frosts.

Blackberries:  Nothing doing.

Raspberries and strawberries were a light crop.  Strawberries especially were badly damaged by late spring frosts—­with me they were nearly a total failure except the everbearing, which gave us a good crop.  And I want to add that they are here to stay for home use, and possibly as a market berry.  Plants are fully as hardy as the June-bearing sorts.  No matter how many times the blossoms are frozen off in the spring they will come right out again and give us berries until it freezes up in the fall.

Currants and gooseberries were a fair crop.

From the reports I gather that less nursery stock has been planted here than usual, but with good results, as the season has been favorable for plantings.

The fruit list recommended by the State Horticultural Society can be relied on in this locality.

There is a good deal of interest shown here in top-working the better quality winter apples onto hardy trees with good results, and the Hibernal seems to be the best stock to use—­it certainly ought not to be planted for any other purpose.  The apple is a drug on the market, and those who planted largely of this variety find it difficult to dispose of the crop at any price.

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STUDYING FRUITS IN ILLINOIS.—­Many seedling apples are being grown at the Illinois Experiment Station.  Reciprocal hybridizations between standard orchard varieties and various species of the genus Malus have been made, fifty-seven species and varieties which are not of commercial importance having been obtained from the Arnold Arboretum at Boston.  Direct improvement through these violent crosses is not anticipated, but it is hoped to acquire valuable information regarding the affinities of the various species used, and also to produce material for use in back crossing.  Reciprocal crosses between standard orchard varieties are also being made in large numbers, while a difficult piece of work has been attempted in the reciprocal crossing of different strains of the same variety, and different individuals of the same strain.  C.S.  Crandall writes:  “This project has aimed at the selfing of particular individuals, and the use on trees here of pollen from trees of the same variety in orchards 100 miles away