192 Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society. 



and 2d, tliose that the private individual may conduct and which may be 

 called tentative experiments. I am of those who believe that our agricul- 

 tural colleges should not only educate young men for such opportunities 

 as may occur to them in this line when they leave school, but also insti- 

 tute such experiments, as are demanded by their immediate interests, and 

 while if possil)le, positive value to local int(3rests only may, nevertheless, 

 from the flexibility and universality of nature's laws, be of general appli- 

 cation in many cases by way of comparison. Horticulture offers such a 

 wide tield for experimentation, that no doubt each State, or section of the 

 country will decide what the term horticulture means to them particularly. 

 So that in discussing the work of the college, I will chiefly have an eye 

 single to the particular horticultural wants of the people of my own State. 

 There is some doubt as to the meaning of the term horticulture. In most 

 cases pomology is ineant. Horticulture has to do with fruit culture, but 

 so has agriculture. Whether it should be treated from the agricultural 

 or horticultural standpoint, depends on its special treatment. Horticul- 

 ture on this continent covers a wide range of topics, depending on the 

 varying latitudes, climatic conditions and special wants of the people. The 

 definition of horticulture is no doubt expanding rapidly, and in a period not 

 very far distant will mean as much at the West as it does to-day under 

 the wing of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Horticulture then 

 in Colorado, means, as might be inferred, very largely pomology and for- 

 estry, with a growing taste for market and landscape gardening. It must 

 be obvious to the veriest tyro in such matters, that the college, and it only, 

 can carry out scientific experiments worthy the name. And that to ex- 

 periment to some purpose, one must be acquainted with the work already 

 accomplished so as to avoid unnecessary re{)etition. But in Colorado, pos- 

 sessing as we do, skies of Italian clearness, with an abundance of water, 

 old experiments, it seems to me, would be well worthy of repetition, 

 owing to the opposite conditions and positive advantages we possess over 

 the Eastern States. 



What Colorado needs especially to know, is what varieties of the orchard 

 fruits will succeed under the i^eculiar climatic conditions prevailing there, 

 which are an excessive dryness of the atmosphere, warm sunshiny days, with 

 but very little snow on the ground in winter. Many methods of cultivation 

 that are standard in other States here require modification. Wo mny, for in- 

 stance, ignore the law that exotic seeds should not be sown before settled 

 warm weather. Seed rarely or never dies there ; in consequence, Aveeds are 

 in great abundance, and grow until frost from the great abundance of water. 

 The apple, pear, cherry and plum have been planted in abimdance, but of 

 varieties in most cases unsuitod to this altitude, and too often left to take 

 care of themselves, as though foreordained to .succeed anyway. The want 

 would seem to be met by varieties of hardy, vigorous habit, possessing a leaf 

 adapted by nature to the climatic conditions of the plains. The Russian ap- 

 l)le may furnish these, or seminal varieties of those fruits raised on the jiliiins. 



