Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1892-01-07

their growth On reaching the unbrofsI
prairie soil and under the impetus q
the enrlching mulch the trees had tt
expend their surplus vitality in fruit
ing Many fruit growers resort to IN,
juring ii tree IN various ways to bring
1t into frniting. Scoring q tree Its ss-
tire length is resurted to by an orchard
ist not far from here VINO has nBi
seen the limbson which the wire Lube
was placed laden with fruit; or again
we hear it said that a tree bears itself
to death, the bearing being result
not a cause of fatal injury or disease.
There are newer sortssof apples that
are giving great promise of being yalu-
able acquisitions to our iimiied fruit
list. that perhaps Prof. Kefer viii tel
4 us of. 1t viii be news. perhaps, TO
some Of my hearers, that fruit, and es-
pecially apples, are now being bred as
i scientifically as is the finest stock, with
d view to combining the hardness of
the crop with the flavor and keeping
1 qualities of the best fruits of our east
ern states. In fact the laws governing
reproduction III vegetable life are com
ing to be better understood, and are
being made the basis for inaugurating
and carving out special lines OF expari-
mental work, for the purpose of fixing
certain characteristics that have been
developed in tie plant, through its en-
deavor to adapt itself TO some peculiar
conditions of climate differing from
1 that Of its native habltation.
Trees and plants are endowed with a
1 certain amount Of what we may call
1 inanimate sense, which is clearly
! marked in many different ways
i throughout the vegetable kingdom.
When plant is placed under such con
4 ditians as are detrimental to its life,
it viii change to- a certain extent its
natural habit of growth. and throw
out such guards as viii tend 10 protect
1t from such detrimental or foreign
conditions. BY the repeated reproauc-
4 tion of such specimens through their
seed, a gradual accimation Is affected,
1 The state of Minnesota for years en-
/ ployed Peter NJ. Gideon to carry on q
line of experimental work In plant
1 breeding and hJbridizing, with 2 view
1 of producing apples adapted TO the
state of Minnesota. G. G. Patten Of
Iowa, and many Others are pursuing
| this same line Of experimental work.
The claim is made by some that this
process is too slow d one to be Of any
direct benefit TO the present generation,
especially with the apple. while by
others it is claimed to be TO surest and
shortest way for gaining our desired
| wants. Another line of work that is
being carried out for securing to the
northwest full line Of fruits adapted
to the climate. is that of importing d.
rectIy from the plains of eastern and
northeastern Russia the fruits of that
country, where it is claimed, and be-
Heve with little dissent, that there exist
climatic conditions approximating very
closely to those existing here. Proba-
bly, no person has labored so assidiously
to bring the fruits of Russia into public
notice and to present their claims in
the promology of the northwest, as
Prof. Budd, of Iowa. Hundreds of
varieties have been introduced, by the
US. government, by Prof. Budd, A. G.,
Tuttle Of Wisconsin, and others. Prob
ably hundred and fifty varieties have
been fruited in the states of Iowa, Wis
consin and Minnesota. a magnificent
showing of seventy-fye varieties was
made by Mr. Tuttle several years ago
at the Minnesota state fair. Yet a
very large portion of these varieties,
fruited or planted, have proven of little
or no value. THERE'S however almost a
certainty that there are few varieties
that will prove valuable to Dakota, but
we shall have to sift and so,I, and test
these varieties ourselves before any,
thing definite can be determined.
The growing OF the smaller fruits in
South Dakota has passed the expert
mental stage and is an unquestioned
success; the strawberry, the raspberry,
currant, gooseberry, grape. ETC., flourish
and bear abundantly, but we must give
them that little care. without which no
good thing is ours in this world. Plant
strawberries in the spring, rows four
feet apart and l6 to 18 inches apart in
the row, and mulch in winter with
clean straw or prairie hay, to avoid
seeding the beds with weeds. For
general purpose berry no better can be
found than the Crescent, fertilized with
Wilson-two rows of Crescent to one
OF Wilson; although there are sorts like
the Manchester or Sharpless that far
excel it in flavor.
The currant and gooseberry require
the least care perhaps of all the fruits,
but mulch well and plant where the
wind will not whip the long pendant
racemes of flowers and fruit of the
currant to obtain the best results; nor
yet so near grove that the tree roots
will rob them of all sustenance. l
want to add too, that hecurrant worm
is abroad in our land, and white helle-
bore busted on our currant and goose
berry bushes will be as necessary to
save this fruit as is paris green to save
our potato crop. Make a note of this
for he will visit you.
The grape and raspberry require
somewhat more elaborate preparation
for their winter quarters than the
fruits mentioned. Bending to the
ground and protecting with dirt, in the
care of the grape, entirely covering.
the cane having been previously trim
med. With the raspberry the bend
will have to be made in the root this
of course applies only to the black rasp-
berry.
A berry that in most gardens has de
generated into little more than a
troublesome weed is the Turner rasp-
berry, and it is capable OF vastly better
reSnltS If given a little intelligent care