50 VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



tion of injurious insects, will still prove of lasting - benefit to 

 Ameican horticulture, was the successful introduction from 

 Algeria of the fertilizing insect of the Mediteranean region 

 into California and its establishment in that State, which as- 

 sures the production of a commercial fig equal in quality if it 

 does not surpass the standard fig of commerce. 



FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



The American fruit industry now easily surpasses that of 

 every other country in the world. From only a garden indus- 

 try it has broadened into a commercial undertaking of great 

 magnitude. 



Growers in different localites are devoting themsejves 

 more and more to the production of particular kinds of fruit 

 which thrive best with them even though they be thousands 

 of miles from the consumers whom they aim to supply. The 

 most notable instances of this are the pineapple and orange 

 districts of Florida and the orange and lemon districts of Cal- 

 ifornia, the strawberry fields which extend from Florida all 

 along the Atlantic Slope and supply fruit from January until 

 the middle of July. Successful and profitable shipments of 

 peaches are made from Georgia to points many miles away. 



An important factor in this commercial fruit-growing 

 has been the application of artificial or mechanical refrigera- 

 tion to the preservation of fruits beyond their normal period. 

 There has been marked increase both in the number of varie- 

 ties planted and the area devoted to fruit culture. 



INTRODUCTION OF NEW CROPS. 



One line of investigation which has proved particularly 

 productive of valuable results has been the introduction into 

 the United States of new crops or new varieties of well-known 

 crops, which have added greatly to the productive capacity of 

 our present agricultural areas in localities where our common 

 agricultural crops cannot be grown. In 1888 the Department 

 of Agriculture established in the arid region of Western Kan- 

 sas a station for testing crops suited to the conditions of that 

 belt. One of the plants thus demonstrated to be a success 

 was Kaffir corn, which was grown last year in the State of 

 Kansas alone to the value of over five million dollars. The 

 Department has imported from Turkestan a variety of alfalfa 

 which promises within the next decade to add millions of 

 dollars annually to the forage-producing capacity of the arid 

 region. 



FORESTRY. 



At no time in our history has the interest in forestry been 

 so genuine or wide-spead as at present. The Goverment has 



