58 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



city, that was but a few years ago a rough, narrow road with timber and brush all 

 of the way on both sides, now is dotted with as tine homes as can be found in the 

 state, admired by all who see them, and kept up by an enterprising class of people. 

 Thousands of dollars are now paid out for labor annually, and tens of thousands^ 

 of dollars of foreign money brought here from markets a thousand miles away, 

 and this is from land that did not formerly add one dollar's worth of revenue to 

 the owner. Many acres of these lands have been sold for from $100 to $225 per 

 acre since the fruit industry was started. Our first purchase of 40 acres at $30 per 

 acre would be cheap now at $500 per acre. \Ve have been offered that for it, but it 

 could not be made for that amount of money. 



Now, Mr. Editor, this work has been done by persistent labor, for labor was 

 our chief capital stock, paid in by installments of from twelve to sixteen hours 

 daily for twelve months in the year. Six thousand tons of manure have becen put 

 on this plantation alone. Our cash capital in March, 1884, amounted to $60, besides 

 having paid $500 on our purchase, one team and wagon, two sons, myself and wife.. 

 Now, this has been no small undertaking, 1 assure you. During this time we have 

 met with many reverses, but our labor in general has been crowned with success^ 

 Our work has been a work of pleasure ; it has always been seasoned with hope, for 

 we know that cur hopes are the mainsprings of our greatest endeavors. We feel 

 thankful to know that our work has aided many others in afiording employment to 

 the unemployed. We also take great pleasure in expressing our thanks to the citi- 

 zens of our beautiful city, to the business men for their patronage, to the press of 

 our city for their aid in advertising this great enterprise. I speak of it as a great 

 enterprise, for it has added thousands of increased wealth to the property of our 

 county." 



Our fruits are spoken of as being of a superior quality. I would here say to the 

 reader that should this article come to the noticeof any who desire to locate in a beau -^ 

 tiful country, and where we have the soil and climate for the most successful growing^ 

 of fruits in our land, I speak from a knowledge gained from experience, and gained 

 by traveling over ten thousand miles of country since locating in our present 

 home, after visiting hundreds of fruit farms in other parts of our country, I take 

 pride in saying that we have one of the best fruit farms, if not the best, in the 

 State. The time will soon come when train loads of fruit will be carried from 

 Southwest Missouri and Vernon county will produce her quota. I will mention the 

 increase of material used for boxing small fruit in our city. I think in 1884 5000' 

 boxes would have held all the strawberries grown in our county. In 1891 seven car 

 loads and about 700,000 boxes were sold at Nevada, and these all have to be made 

 upon the different fruit farms. We often make 6000 boxes per day on our own, 

 sewing them together with a wire thread. Any one visiting our county that may 

 be interested in fruit-growing is invited to visit our plantation. Should you like 

 to visit it in strawberry season, come in May, about the middle of May. Three or 

 four hundred hands are employed within half a mile of the Gem City Farm. This 

 fruit is all crated and labeled before it leaves the plantation. 



Yours truly, 



J. H. Logan, Nevada, Mo. 



At the evening session an illustrated lecture was given by Prof.. 

 Purinton, of Columbia (Mo.) University, on Entomology. This lecture 

 was well received and appreciated by the audience, and many thanks 

 were tendered to Prof. Purinton and the Board of Curators for th& 

 evening's lecture. 



