40 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



MICHIGAN AT THE CHICAGO LAND SHOW. 



Why go to Washini>ton, Oregon, ^Montana or Colorado to raise a])])]es? 



Tliat is the question that thousands of jieople are asking wh(» afl^ended 

 the great land show in Chicago and inspected Michigan's wonderful dis- 

 play of Northern Si>ies, Baldwins, Greenings, Jonathans and other vari- 

 eties of ap])les' almost without number. 



Michigan was certainly ''there with the goods" when it came to making 

 a show of agricultural and horticultural products that is unriyaled in 

 diversity and in general excellence. 



The Wolverine state was represented at the land show l)y a lusty and 

 industrious bunch of hustlers representing respectively the original fruit 

 belt, the Western Development association and the Northwestern Mich- 

 igan Development association. Thousands of people thronged the at- 

 tractive displays made by the three Michigan organizations and it is 

 now stated that practically everybody Avas stricken with the "back to 

 the land fever" with IMichigan as the objective point. 



Michigan, long famous as a marvelous fruit state, is preparing to make 

 even better use of its advantages along this line. Both the Western 

 Michigan and Northeastern Michigan associations are doing everything 

 in their power to induce prospective fruit growers to locate somewhere 

 within the state's confines. They stand ready to furnish the necessary 

 information about the kind of crops that can best be raised and where 

 excellent farming lands are obtainable. 



While there is a broad awakening interest in general farming, the 

 question of apple culture easily holds first rank and an unusually large 

 numl>er of people are making efforts to secure a good ]>roducing orchard 

 and thus be free and independent of the daily grind of the city office. 



A special incentive toward intensive and scientific farming are the 

 many Alladin tales that have of late been sent out from the various sec- 

 tions of Michigan. Well cultivated and handled a])ple orchards in the 

 northern part of the state are yielding profits from •f200 to .|500 an 

 acre, while cherries, ras])berries, strawberries and similar small fruits 

 frequently show a net ])rofit of .f 1,000 an acre. All of which shows that 

 a man with ten to twenty acres of land is on easy street. 



The most interesting feature of the growth of the apple culture is the 

 fact that in the lower part of IMicliigan. where the apple orchards have 

 been practically abandoned for years, except as a run lot for pigs and a 

 storage place for discarded hay racks and other litter, an era of reclama- 

 tion has set in. Many of these orchards, counted as worthless, have dur- 

 ing the past year or two been properly fertilized and cultivated. The 

 old trees have been s])rayed, all the dead timber cut out and as a result 

 a neat profit is returned on the labor and investment. 



That brains count in the working of a farm as well as in the conduct 

 of commercial or manufacturing enterprises is manifested by a tale re- 

 cently recounted of a Chicago business man, who was forced to leave 

 the city on account of ill health. He came to INIichigan to rusticate. 



He was stricken with the ajiple culture fever and after looking around 

 for a time found an abandoned orchard in the southern part of Allegan 

 county. He leased this orchard for .flOO a year, the lease running three 



