Transactions of the Iowa State Horticultural Society for Volume 24 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 Excerpt: ...and one and one-half feet. The berries. are lar ger if well pruned. I prune the Turner back to two feet. It does not sucker so much on clay as on black soil. The trimming should be done in the spring. Director's report, by D. A. Porterfield, Traer. DIRECTOR'S REPORT. BY D. A. POHTERFIELD. After three years of dry weather and failure of crops for the nurserymen of Iowa--things looking as if Providence had forsaken us--the year 1889 came in, in grand shape with colors flying. God in his mercy has blessed us. Our corn cribs are full, our granaries are mnning over, and although we now and then find a man who would growl if he were going to be hung or sent to the Iowa legislature, the most of us feel thankful and happy. As to the fruit crop in our district it has been simply grand, and although where we live the thermometer will be bursting at the top end at night, it may in the morning be bursted at the bottom. But still we can raise fruit to beat the world. In apples we have had good crops of the following varieties, and the trees are mostly looking well: Duchess, Wealthy, Walbridge, Jeannette, Roman Stem, Fameuse, Red Astrachan, Perry Russett and Whitney No. 20--the king of crabs. One man at Traer says he picked 125 bushels of Duchess from four trees, twenty years old. Apples have been selling from 25 to 60 cents, and good winter apples are now selling for $3.00 per bbl. Early and Late Richmond cherries are doing fairly well. De Soto, Miner, Weaver, and Forest Garden plums have done grandly--not only for this year, but for years. We consider them the four plums to plant. Of grapes we have Concord, Moore's Early, Worden, Wilder, Merrimac, Janesville, Brighton, Delaware, Prentiss, Pocklington, and Niagara--in fact we had twenty-one varieties at the fair this ye...