278 



HORTICULTURE 



September 8, 1906 



THE SPECIFIC REQUIREMETS OF 

 NEW VARIETIES IN CALI- 

 FORNIA FRUIT GROWING. 



Under the above caption of "New 

 Varieties in California Fruit Grow- 

 ing" Prof. E. J. Wiclcson of the 

 Uuiversity of California Experiment 

 Station presented a thoughtful 

 paper at the nurserymen's convention 

 at Dallas. After referring to the 

 achievements of Luther Burbank, the 

 methods and aims of that much-dis- 

 cussed worker, and the unavoidable 

 slowness in disseminating new varie- 

 ties so that they attain importance in 

 the commercial market, Prof. Wickson 

 said that one reason why new varie- 

 ties do not figure more largely in Cal- 

 ifornia fruit growing is the smallness 

 of the amateur interest. There is, in 

 fact, almost an absence of pure ama- 

 teurs, enthusiastic, critical, discrim- 

 inating, athirst for novelties. Even 

 suburban planters follow the lead of 

 the commercial orchardists and plant 

 chiefly that which has shown adapta- 

 tion to local growing conditions, and 

 few are averse to making what they 

 can by sale or small surpluses. The 

 result is that California fruit growing 

 is almost wholly commercial in spirit, 

 policy and point of view, whicti is per- 

 haps only natural in a state where the 

 fruit products reach an annual aggre- 

 gate value of something like sixty mil- 

 lions of dollars. The effect is to con- 

 centrate attention upon varieties which 

 have achieved fame for profit, and to 

 repress amateur devotion and indul- 

 gences. 



At the same time there is and has 

 always been quite a disposition toward 

 trial of novelties among commercial 

 growers, especially manifested in 

 search for specific characters which 

 are seen to be desirable, rather than 

 desire of newness for its own sake, 

 which is often a point of pride among 

 amateurs. To this enterprising and 

 discriminating search is due the prom- 

 inence of some of the leading varieties, 

 which are chance seedlings recognized 

 as meeting special requirements and 

 grown great because they really did so. 

 The California grower is, therefore, 

 quite certain that he needs not varie- 

 ties new throughout and of startling 

 characters, but improved varieties, 

 which hold the good points of the old 

 and add other points. For instance, 

 he calls for trees resistant to disease, 

 for improvement of the fruit in beau- 

 ty, flavor and keeping qualities, for 

 varieties, similar in kind, which fill 

 gaps in the ripening season, so that 

 he can employ help continuously, and 

 shippers and canners agree with him, 



so they can keep the cars moving and 

 the cannery plants at work. The 

 grower says he must be careful not to 

 plant something different from what 

 is already growing and selling well in 

 his region, and this is also the advice 

 of the trade to him. He cannot risk 

 much on varieties of entirely different 

 types, although most growers are al- 

 ways doing a little experimenting. 

 Nor should he undertake too many va- 

 rieties, because a profitable orchard is 

 not a pomological museum. There 

 must be a large quantity of uniform 

 fruit to make any district commercial- 

 ly prominent. 



GREENHOUSES BUILDING AND 



PROJECTED. 



New. 



Wakefield, Mass. — Peter Ball, one 

 house. 



Sacred Heart, Minn. — Mr. Nicholls, 

 one house. 



Newburgh, N. Y.— Yuess Floral Co., 

 five houses. 



Wigginsville, Mass. — Swanson & 

 Dillgren, one house, 30x200. 



Ashtabula, O. — Ashtabula Green- 

 house Co., 18 houses, rebuilt. 



The Goshen Floral Co., of Goshen, 

 Ind., have moved from Lincoln avenue 

 to East Washington street. 

 Additions. 



Kennebunk, Me. — J. O. Elwell, one 

 house. 



St. Louis, Mo. — Board of Public Im- 

 provements, two houses. 



N. Abington, Mass. — S. Littlefleld, 

 one house; 45 h. p. boiler to be in- 

 stalled. 



INCORPORATED. 



The Schwen Floral Co., Toledo, 0., 

 by F. J. Schwen. .7. C. Griblen. A. 

 .Joseph and J. J. Schwen. Capital, 

 .$10,000. 



W. P. Hayden of Rockland, Mass., 

 made one of the finest dahlia shows of 

 the year in the floral department of 

 the Weymouth Agricultural Society's 

 Fair, last week. The collection com- 

 prised all classes and many novelties. 



****■***-** *r 



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I nENBT A.DREER, 



I 714 CbMtnat St., Pkllk., ra. 



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I F. 0. PIERCE COMPANY I 



= 170 Fulton Street, New York 5 



2 Agencies in all the Principal Cities S 



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I JOSEPH BRECK & SONS I 



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 SPECIALTY: "Working on the Failurcg 

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SIGGERS & SIGGERS 



Box 9, National Union Building 

 Washington, D. C. 



STANDARD FLOWER POTS 



Packed in small crates, easy to handle. 



Seed pans, same price as pots. Send for price list of 

 Cylinders for Cut flowers. Hanging Baskets, Lawn 

 Va^es etc. Ten percent, off for tash with order. Address 



Hilflnfer Bros., Pottery, Fort Edward, N.Y. 



August Rolket & Sons, Agls., 31 Barclay St., N. 1. City. 



BOSTON PLATE & WINDOW GLASS CO. 

 GREENHOUSE GLASS 



German and American 

 261 to 287 A St., BOSTON 20-22 Canal St. 



