Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-07-21
THEY STOOD THE TEST
Bents & Upton's Nursery Stock is All Right.
and Did Not Winter XIII.

casion to visit the Nursery and Frui
Farm of Bents & Upton, located
mile east Of town and was so muc
impressed with what we were show.
In a trip about the premises that w
felt constrained to give our readers
partial account of the things to b,
seen.
After the rather dubious report
current this spring in regard to al
the fruit being killed and this season,
fruit crop being a failure, we mus
say we were agreeably surprised tx
IND all the fruit trees and vines il
this Nursery in fine condition anG
most OF it in bearing, the small fruit
crop being especially large and fine.
The trees in the Nursery row are
looking thrifty and are making q
good growth this season, proving tina,
the severe winter did them no injury
and not a blighted or dead tree is te
be seen in the lot. Several of the two
and three year olds were proudly
bearing what promises to be some fine
fruit. So great is the demand TO,
their stock that new block for grow.
Ing apple trees has been opened up
this season.
Their small fruit crop had been
mostly gathered but as we passed
along the Nursery our eye was caught
by the profusion of luscious dew
berries which hung upon the vines.
These are among the most tender of
vines, but have stood the severe
winter and are cropping in profusion.
Several of the new varieties of
currants and gooseberries they are
testing are quite heavily laden with
fruit and are only year old. And a
little farther on, we were astonished
to lind some raspberries of the Colum-
bian variety set out from tips this
spring that had attained a growth of
nearly five feet and were plentifully
covered with large and delicious red
fruit. This is one of their new va
rietieS and promises to be one of their
best ones.
This firm grows several fine
varieties of grapes and this year, as
last, the vines are heavily hung with
what are already large punches of
grapes. Last year their grapes were
as fine as any we saw, and they grow
and fruit more varieties than at any
other nursery in Northern Iowa. AS
sample of what they grow we will
tellyou that last year single bunch
OF white grape they grew weighed
one pound. There was a report made
this spring that grapes all over the
state were winter killed but the
report evidently did not include
Bents & Upton's vines, which were
only lightly covered with a little
straw.
Our attention was arrested for a
moment by several bushes of June
berries which are fruiting. Mr.. Up
ton told us that in an early day they
grew wild here. They resemble blue
berry greatly, and this last variety
they are also endeavoring to cultivate
in their nursery.
These gentlemen are constantly
testing the new novelties that are put
upon the market and can show you
several of the cracked up'' varieties
which they have planted, grown and
fruited and which are absolutely
worthless; but several varieties of
small fruits are proving their worth,
and they have new apple, the
"Bismarck, which Mr.. Bents thinks
may become a successful rival OF the
duchess. 1t is claimed to
be an early and prolific fruiter, and
these claims seem borne out by the
appearance of several of these trees in
their nursery which are thrifty two
year-olds heavily laden with large
fruit, sometimes three in one bunch.
Mr.. Bents has for years contended
that cherries could be grown here as
we'll as anywhere and as substantial.
tion of this, we know that the best
cherries on our market a few seasons
ago were from Waukon. With this
idea, they have set out several va
rieties of this fruit and row of The
Wragg variety are trying to prove hi
views correct by fruiting profusely OF
three year old trees. Several of the
cherries plucked for us to taste were
large and sweet and finely colored. A
good Illustration of care and cultiva,
tion VS.. neglect and weeds, was seen
here. Three or four of the cherry
trees at the ends of the rows were
planted in new breaking and in some
manner were neglected in cultivating
weeds and grass growing thickly
around them. They had fruited also
but the fruit was smaller and less il
quantity and the trees themseINe
were stunted and but little more tllal
a third as tall as the Others of TIL
same variety which had received tn
benefits of cultivation.
The nursery, fruit farm and seet
farm occupies so acres, 30 acres o
which is in nursery stock, all of it il
neat, orderly, well cultivated row
and sections which are joy to th
beholder. They claim and we believ
they have the greatest variety o
fruits of any, nursery in Norther
Iowa, embracing all varieties old an
new, and never is a free or vine sen