764 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



vegetables it was $42.09. The potato was the most important vegetable grow^n. It 

 occupied 51.1 per cent of the total acreage devoted to vegetables and was valued at 

 $98,387,614 or $33.48 per acre. The production was 273,328,207 bu., an increase of 

 about 25 per cent over the preceding decade. Sweet potatoes ranked second in value 

 of the vegetables grown in the United States, the yield from the 537,447 acres grown 

 being 42,526,696 bu. and the value per acre $36.98. Next in acreage stood water- 

 melons, sweet corn, and tomatoes, more than 197,000 acres being devoted to each crop. 



Commercial gardening, that is, truck and market gardening, appears to have 

 increased about 100 per cent at the North and fully 200 per cent at the South during 

 the decade. 



Canning industry.— The canning industry has grown rapidly and the annual output 

 is now about double that of a decade ago. The pickles, preserves, and sauces put 

 up in 1900 were valued at $21,507,046, and the canned fruits and vegetables at 

 $56,668,313, of which the vegetables approximated but did not exceed one-half the 

 total A-alue. About two-thirds of the vegetables canned consist of corn and tomatoes. 

 Peas stand next in importance. The number of cases of vegetables holding 24 cans 

 each packed in 1899 was as follows: Tomatoes, 8,905,833; corn, 6,365,967; and peas, 

 2,738,251. Standard tomato cans hold 3 lbs. each and corn and pea cans 2 lbs. 

 each. Maryland and New Jersey were the heaviest packers of tomatoes, New York 

 and Illinois of corn, and Maryland and New York of peas. Considerable quantities 

 of sui;h other vegetables as asparagus, Lima beans, string beans, okra, pumpkin, 

 squash, succotash, sweet potatoes, etc., are yearly put up in cans. The prices of 

 canned goods have decreased al)Out 25 per cent during the last decade. 



Fruit culture. — The total value of all fruits produced in the United States in 1899 

 was $131,423,517. Orchard fruits alone were valued at $83,751,840; grapes, $14,090,- 

 937; small fruits, $25,030,877, and subtropical fruits, $8,549,863. During the last 

 decade orchard fruit production as a whole increased 15.4 per cent. Apples alone 

 constituted 55 per cent of all orchard trees, peaches and nectarines 27.2 per cent, 

 and plums and prunes 8.4 per cent. The total acreage of small fruits was 304,029, 

 and the value of the j^roduct per acre $82.33. Strawberries constituted about 50 per 

 cent of the total acreage of small fruits. Raspberries stood next in importance. 



The total value of all cultivated nuts was $1,950,161. California alone reported 

 73.9 of this total. That State leads in the production of almonds and English wal- 

 nuts. Texas leads in the production of pecans. 



Floriculture. — In 1899 there were 30,417 farms reporting land under glass, represent- 

 ing a total of 96,230,420 sq. ft., or over 2,200 acres. Of this number 6,159 were com- 

 mercial florists' establishments, having about 51,023,000 sq. ft. of land under glass. 

 The total wholesale value of floricultural products w^as $18,759,464, of which $17,- 

 377,860 was for florists' products. The retail value, it is thought, could not have 

 been less than $30,000,000. The annual income from cut flowers alone is estimated 

 at $12,000,000 to $14,000,000. The sale of cut roses is estimated at $6,000,000, carna- 

 tions $4,000,000, violets — which stood third in importance— $750,000, and chrysan- 

 themums $500,000. The annual production of roses and carnations is 100,000,000 

 each, violets 75,000,000. The average prices for roses and carnations is 20 to 25 per 

 cent higher than 10 years previous, while violets, hlies of the valley, and tulips have 

 considerably decreased in price. 



Nursery industry. — Eelative to the nursery business the twelfth census showed a 

 total of 2,029 establishments, with 137,459 acres devoted to the growing of young 

 trees. The value of the products from this area was $9,231,503. New York leads in 

 the production of nursery stock Avith a total of 237 establishments, yielding products 

 valued at $1,703,354. Other leading States in value of product are Iowa, $636,543; 

 Illinois, $610,971; California, $533,038; Ohio, $538,534, and Pennsylvania, $515,010. 



