This district embraces within its limits a very large area having different characteristics from a horticultural standpoint. Much of the land has a high elevation and is rolling or hilly, and much is low and comparatively level. A considerable portion is close to Lake Superior and other large bodies of water and, therefore, governed by conditions with respect to frost different from those controlling land not so situated. The quality or character of the soil is also varying.
The foregoing considerations probably furnish the reason for the widely differing reports secured on the blanks distributed, and which were quite generally answered. This prompts the suggestion that before planting commercially or on a large scale one should personally conduct a series of experiments on land designed for use to test its adaptability for the fruits intended.
We suffered a frost and hard freeze on the 18th day of May which greatly damaged the fruit buds; the temperature registered on that day at the United States Weather Office being 27°. The month of June was the coolest in forty-five years. The low temperature of the summer months and lack of sunshine resulted in a tardy development of fall fruits and a failure to mature them. Even the Beta grape and the Compass cherry did not ripen their fruit. The Opata plum, however, bore a large crop of ripe plums early in September.
Very little blight has been reported.
The weather report shows a deficiency of precipitation up to December 1 of 3.81 inches. However, the heavy rains in November immediately before the ground froze supplied sufficient moisture to enable trees and shrubs to stand the winter.
The following list is suggested by the reports:
Apples: Duchess, Okabena, Wealthy, Patten's Greening.
Crab Apples: Florence, Early Strawberry, Virginia.
Plums: Cheney, Aitkin, Compass, Opata.
Grape: Beta.