REPORT OF HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 31 



of the experiment station for the growing of crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, 

 lettuce, radishes, etc., when not in use for station work, but they were not 

 built for the purpose and, although fair results have been obtained, they 

 can be used to better advantage for other crops. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



Despite the drought, good crops of nearly all kinds of vegetables were 

 secured. They were grown, gathered and, for the most part, sold upon the 

 grounds by the students, who were thus able to obtain actual practice in 

 vegetable gardening. Were it not for the protests of neighboring farmers 

 who market their surplus vegetables in Lansing, we could engage in the 

 growing of vegetables upon a much larger scale, and would find a ready 

 market for them. If this could be done, we should be able to give a much 

 larger experience in this line of horticulture. 



FRUIT GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 



The strawberry crop was excellent in every respect, although, from the 

 fact that our plantation is composed of two hundred varieties, planted for 

 exiperimental purposes, it did not give as large a yield as would have been 

 obtained had it consisted of but two or three standard commercial sorts. 

 The raspberries and blackberries promised well in the early part of the 

 season, but the crop was cut short by the drought. The currants and 

 gooseberries were loaded to the ground, except in case of a few sorts of the 

 former that were injured by the currant borer. The cherries produced 

 good crops, as did such trees of peach and plum as were of a bearing age. 

 Only a small crop was obtained from the pear trees, while the "apple trees 

 were so weakened by the apple scab fungus, by which they were attacked 

 in the spring of 1892, that they could form no fruit buds, and, as a result, 

 the crop of 1893 was very light. 



During the year my foreman, Mr. A. G. Gulley, had charge of the work 

 of the men and the team, and of the students in the grafting room and in 

 the nursery and orchards in particular. In October, he accepted an 

 appointment to the Vermont Agricultural College, as professor of horti- 

 culture and horticulturist of the experiment station, and left at once for his 

 new field of labor and usefulness. 



Mr. H. P. Gladden and Mr. R. J. Coryell, although connected with the 

 Experiment Station, have rendered valuable assistance to the college work 

 of the department by directing the labor of the students and giving instruc- 

 tion in the lines they have under their charge. 



OUTSIDE WORK. 



In addition to the duties at the college, I spent two weeks in attending 

 the long institutes at Paw Paw and Union City, and another .week in simi- 

 lary work at Benzonia, Traverse City and Eastport. Messrs. Gulley, Glad- 

 den and Coryell also devoted from twQ to three weeks each to institute 

 work, so that some one or more from this department were present at every 

 institute held in 1892-3. 



I also attended and read papers at the annual meeting of the State 



