40 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



To the President : 



Sir — The class work has been given during the past v.ear, according 

 to the schedule and in the same way that it has been carried on during 

 the past few years. 



There has been a steady increase in the number of students special- 

 izing in the Horticultural department. In the class of 1909, there were 

 5 graduates and in the class of 1912 there were 24 ; in the class of 

 1913 there will be about 35. This large increase in the number of stu- 

 dents emphasizes the inadequacy of our facilities and equipment. The 

 greenhouse equipment is far from being sufficient as has been referred 

 to in previous reports. The laboratory, erected in 1888, is now out of 

 date and not at all satisfactory for teaching modern horticulture, in 

 addition to being far too small. It has become necessary to depend 

 upon other departments for class rooms and laboratories. 



Since horticulture is one of the most important industries in Michi- 

 gan, it is reasonable to expect that the Horticultural department of this 

 college should have housing and equipment in keeping with the importance 

 of the industry. Nearly every college or university in neighboring states 

 is improving its Horticultural department facilities and it is to be hoped 

 that Michigan will not fall behind these states in this important kind 

 of progress. 



The extension work in horticulture has continued to grow and pros- 

 per. The plan of conducting the work has been practically the same 

 as last year. Early in the spring, a complete series of lectures and 

 orchard demonstrations on tree pruning, winter spraying, summer spray- 

 ing, thinning, grading and packing were arranged in 25 different com- 

 munities of the state and with but fcAv exceptions, these have or will 

 be completed. In a large number of other communities, one or more 

 separate demonstrations have been held. Each demonstration is planned 

 as nearly as possible at the correct time of 3ear for the work to be 

 done. A thorough discussion of the subject in hand is given and then 

 the lecture is followed by an actual demonstration of the work. An 

 effort is made to select orchards or trees on centrally located farms and 

 along frequently traveled highways. This makes it x^ossible for those 

 in attendance to not only hear discussion of the ordinary and proper 

 cultural operations of an orchard, but they see the work properly done 

 and can also easily watch the results upon the trees and crops through- 

 out the season and draw conclusions for themselves. The demonstra- 

 tions have been liberally attended and the effect has been that, without 

 exception, there has followed a much increased interest in the care of 

 orchards of the several communities and in a great many cases, the 

 influence has been very apparent and remarkable. We have tried the 

 idea that is being tested in some other states of having the demonstrator 

 spend about one hour with individual farmers on his farm, but our 

 results from this svstem were not as good as those which followed a 



