The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-07


and the pea vines were eleven feet long.
The vegetables We're as fine as anything
exhibited at the fair, the turnips, potatoes,
squashes, pumpkins all denoting good soil
and congenial climate. From farms near
the. station were exhibited. some of the
finest apples ever seen, and 1t was re-
marked that even the celebrated Michi-
gan fruit belt had never produced speci-
mems SO fine. These specimens
aptly illustrate horticultural truth
that the finest quality of any fruit
Is always produced at the northern limit
of successful production. And 1t Is so
with not only fruit but with all agricul-
tural production. Climate cuts great
figure In quality.
Winter Wheat.
During the season Of 1901-the second
season of active work at the upper PENN
sula experiment station-the variety tests
were continued with the object of deter
mining the hardness of cereals and veg
etables best adapted to northern regions.
Four varieties of winter wheat were
planted during the last week of Septem-
Der, 1900. The growth was as near per-
lection as could be wished for and the
fields ELECTED the admiration of hundreds
of visitors, more especially those living
in the southern states. One Of the vari-
eties-Jones Longberry-showed an espe-
cially fine development. This grew to a
height of six feet when fully headed out,
many heads being over five inches long
and being we'll filled. DR.. A. G. True, di-
rector of the United States experiment
stations. said he had not seen as good
a field of anywhere else in the United
States and expressed desire to have
samples sent to the secretary of the de-
partment of agriculture.
Spring Grains.
OF spring grains there were tested three
varieties of spring wheat, ten of bar
ley and twelve Of oats, besides four OF
field peas and fifteen of corn, including
the sweet, flint and dent varieties. Two
plots Of Emmer, or speltz, as 1t is COM
monty called, were tested. Both yielded
high and ripened about as early as spring
wheat. This is a grain resembling cross
between rye and wheat and was recently
introduced by the department of agricul-
ture. &Es5,%t .
- Forage Plants.
OF forage plants four varieties of alfalfa
and one of Sand Lucerne were tested.
All these varieties were three feet high
when cut, seventy-eight to eighty five
days after planting It is likely that
each season hereafter. OF the two plots
Of millet tested last season the common
barnyard millet stood five and half
feet high when cut, while the pearl mil
let reached a height of eight feet. ~.
A fine stand of crimson clover was Sc
cured. The rapid growth of vegetation due
to the absence Of frost in the ground dur
ing the winter is we'll illustrated by the
plot of Hubbard squash photographed
ln1v z fhroo 1raoks aftor p1ontino
Potato Experiments.
y Fourteen varieties of potatoes were
planted, yielding from ITO to $50 bushels
an acre. With the object Of thoroughly
ripening all late varieties of potatoes
calling general attention to the special
agricultural resources Of the upper pen-
insula: and thereby creating "a general de-
mand for. potatoes of a superior quality
for consumption, as we'll as for seed in
southern localities, an interesting ex-
pertinent, was begun at the station last
fall and the farmers In every county In
the: upper peninsula have been asked tc
conduct similar experiments. The mair
features of this experiment consist in
planting potatoes during the fall an6
harvesting the crop during the, spring
The favorable climatic conditions fully
warrant the prediction that the expert
ucAI WILL w ClUWu0u Will SuCCSSS.
All varieties Of roots and vegetables
grew to perfection, as they did during the
first season, and consisted of many Vari-
cites of turnips, onions, parsnips, car
rots, celery, sugar beets, tmangels anc
asparagus. Twelve varieties of straw.
berries were set out, while the several
varieties Of fruit bushes, grape vines ant
fruit trees made an extremely satisfactory
progress during: the past season.
The sugar beets grown at the station
during the past season averaged, twenty
tons per acre, and recent. tests show fol
those on sandy loan 1854 sugar, anc
purity s5.5. Those grown on clay loan
tested 1853 sugar and 86.7 purity.
These tests seldom have been exceeded
in the most favored localities where suga,
beets are6raised for factories and they ar,
much higher than the'6 average for tn,
state Of Michigan. = ri " ~ 10 asss Z.
|-s,-.,.., Other Attractions. XIX
The lover Of nature, the sportsman tht
farmer, the manufacturer, the countr!
E'dweller and the city -dweller will all FIND
what they want in this now rapidly de-
ve1oping region. Much Of it looks drear!
enough from the car window, as does an!
Transformation that will be wrought ii
the next decade will be amazing. Let thosi
who doubt recall the fact that southern
Michigan and much of Ohio were once
heavily wooded, that, in fact, most of thu
United States east Of the Mississippi wa
originally heavily wooded, and that it
broad acred farms and it's large cities
have had the way prepared with the ak.
1lll p p =