846 



HORTICULTURE 



December 23, 1916 



The week ending Saturday, Novem- 

 ber 18 1916, was more than seven cal- 

 endar davs for the people of Maryland. 

 It was an entire year of work, ot crops 

 and of thought put into and fllling 

 everyone of the 60,000 square feet of 

 floor space at the 5th Regiment Ar- 

 mory of Baltimore. Maryland Week 

 has become an institution, and the 

 storv of its steady growth, trom a 

 small exhibit a few years ago to a 

 state show of national prominence at 

 the present time, is an excellent indi- 

 cation that it is carrying out t le nrst 

 conceived idea that it should be a 

 clearing house ot agricultural opinions, 

 teaching by the sight of good products, 

 by the hearing of authoritative lec- 

 tures, and bv a general "swapping ot 

 ideas among the visitors themselves 

 the lesson that the prosperous farmer 

 must be up-to-date, must follow nev. 

 methods or improve <>" ^he old, and 

 , that Maryland holds within her bord- 

 ers just about all the requisites for 

 successful agriculture. 



Perhaps no expression could be 

 given that would furnish a truer idea 

 of what the show has become than the 

 one of Mr. W. H. Olin, supervisor ot 

 marketing of the Frisco Lines; 



"The best corn that I bave seen t'lis en- 

 tire vear in my travels from Kansas Cit> 

 L'^circaBO and the eastern ,,<-o«/t '\°» 

 (ii-!i)lav at this show; In fact It is the Dest 

 f have seen since the days of the National 

 Corn Show at Dallas in 19»- 



"The best apple barrel pack that I h.iye 

 ever seen Is the one that took the blue rih- 

 hon in the apple display. The plate display 

 coinpares very favorably with the one at 



'^'^"The''' uniform good qualiUes of the 

 varieties shown seems. In my judsment. 

 to speak for the Maryland pe"Ple more 

 than anvthlns that I have seen and It does 

 . ..nvlnee me that tliere are several varieties 

 that can be grown In Maryland that are 

 e.i'ual to. it not superior to those grown in 

 anv other locality. There are several things 

 that have iiupressed me as being desirable 

 here; first, it shows the agricultural re- 

 sources of the state; second, quality seems 

 to be what the grower is seeking In his 

 display; and third, that every phase of 

 good fanning is here emphasized." 



These thoughts are the sole ideas 

 of one man. but indeed they can be 

 classed as identical with those of 

 everyone of the 50,000 people who 

 thronged the Armory on every day 

 and evening of the show. Never be- 

 fore has the show been so large, never 

 has quality been so good, never has 

 there been more or better team work 

 between officers, and never have such 

 efforts been rewarded with the success 

 of a Maryland Week that has just 

 passed into history. 



The Corn Show. 

 The West will have to "perk up." 

 No longer is the supremacy of corn 

 growing going to center around a few 

 states of the Mississippi Valley if the 

 indications that have shown up in the 

 corn exhibit run true. Better type In 

 all varieties is seldom attained in a 

 show of this size, according to visitors 

 from the Corn Belt and better quality 

 has not been shown this year at any 

 show. A. B. Twining ot Forrest Hill, 

 one of this year's winners, won the 

 Eastern Championship at the National 

 Show in Dallas in 1914. J. H. Gal- 



breath, of Street Maryland, high man 

 at the show this year is prominent as 

 an eastern exhibitor at western shows. 

 He won the highest honors this year 

 with display of Johnson County white 

 corn, the prize of a silver loving cup 

 having been won by him during the 

 two preceding years also. In the boys' 

 classes a brother, Paul Galbreath, won 

 first and sweepstakes and the entry 

 was also the reserve grand champion 

 of the show. The boys exhibit alone 

 included 140 entries, with ever county 

 in the state being represented, Wor- 

 cester leading with 45. 



Along with the good quality of the 

 corn shown there has been another 

 factor present which the middle west 

 has yet to solve, and that is the asso- 

 ciation of good show corn and high 

 yields. This corelation has not been 

 preached by institute workers in Mary- 

 land as it has been elsewhere, but 

 some unseen force has apparently been 

 moving with the development of the 

 show, making impressive the fact that 

 very few prize winning samples have 

 come from fields yielding less than 75 

 bushels per acre. A. B. Twining, one 

 of this year winners averaged 94 

 bushels per acre with his entire crop, 

 and this is a record that will hustle 

 any mid-western state to duplicate. 

 Vegetable Exhibits Increases 120 Per 

 Cent, in Size. 



Three years ago four tliirty foot 

 tables held the vegetables exhibit, 

 while the present year found the 

 entries in this class occupying al- 

 most one-fourth ot the entire space. 

 "The quality of this exhibit has not 

 been surpassed by any state show so 

 far this year," said Dr. D. N. Shoe- 

 maker of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, who was one of the 

 judges. 



Furthermore, the quality has im- 

 proved not only in the appearance ot 

 the individual exhibits but also in the 

 uniformity and trueness to type of the 

 entries, indicating and emphasizing 

 that the educational features ot form- 

 er shows have found root in fertile 

 soil. 



Fruit Displays Quality. 



The fruit display was good but not 

 what the state is capable of showing. 

 Situated as is Maryland, close to mar- 

 kets, and enjoying excellent climatic 

 conditions and soil adaptations, her 

 showing fell short. But if the visit- 

 or had compared the present quality 

 witli that displayed six years ago 

 there would be left no room for doubt 

 but that great progress has been made. 

 FYeedom from disease in such an un- 

 favorable year ■was remarkable, and 

 the uniformity and general approach 

 to market standards gave indications 

 that new orchards are coming into 

 bearing, that new growers are being 

 added to the list, and the old growers 

 are giving more attention to spraying 

 and pruning. 



The exhibits ot Stayman Winesaps 

 were the best that have ever been 

 shown, and the prize-winning box was 

 sent to President Wilson. It was grown 

 by Hanson Bros, of Ellicott City. 



Dairymen's Exhibit Makes Hit. 

 The State Dairymen's Association 

 furnished one of the drawing cards of 

 the snow with their very much alive, 

 flesh and blood exhibit of dairy cows. 

 Eight kind and gentle faced "bossies" 

 made their home in the Armory during 

 the entire week, and after the first day 

 were as reconciled to their quarters 

 as if the visits of thousands of eager 

 visitors were every day affairs. 



Through the courtesy of the Loudon 

 Company stanchions and stalls were 

 provided, and the Sharpies Company 

 installed a milking machine on an ele- 

 vated platform where a cow was 

 milked every hour. Demonstrations 

 in feeding both cows and calves were 

 carried out and the four pure bred 

 calves looked at the crowd through 

 their little stanchions, ready to con- 

 vince the spectators at all times of the 

 palatableness and desirability of skim 

 milk as a ration and also that a small 

 amount of ground feed in the bottom 

 of the bucket was a much relished 

 dessert after the main meal. 



A complete dairy equipment was 

 also installed including everything 

 from pastuerizer to bottler. Many city 

 people for the first time obtained the 

 idea of how their milk was or was not 

 handled, and the insight they obtained 

 to the meaning of such terms as "pas- 

 tuerized," "certified" and the like will 

 bring about a much better understand- 

 ing between producer and consumer. 

 Many also declared their intentions ot 

 visiting their dairymen's farm, thus 

 bringing together two forces that have 

 been or may be otherwise working in 

 opposite directions. 



Apiary Exhibit. 

 The products of the apiary were not 

 displayed in much greater quantity 

 than last year. The weather is a great 

 factor in the quality of the bee-man's 

 products and the year just passed has 

 not been one most favorable. However, 

 there was not a single doubt lingering 

 in the minds of the spectators but 

 that a better quality would require a 

 bit of time to find. The observation 

 hives attracted much attention, and 

 the attendants were kept busy explain- 

 ing just hnw the honey was obtained 

 and the personal peculiarities ot this 

 winged tribe. 



"Folly Quarters." 

 There are few farms on which one 

 can find everything from dried sage 

 to sausage, but the 177 different arti- 

 cles shown in the "Folly Quarters" 

 booth included both these and all that 

 a farmer or any other person would 

 include as articles of diet. Be it 

 wholesome ham witli either brown 

 eggs or white ones; or sweet potatoes 

 and possum; or the constituents for a 

 mixture of these which we often pay 

 a high price for and is indigestible 

 after we get it; all were here, and 

 grown on the farm, owned by Mr. 'Van 

 Lear Black of Baltimore. 



The booth represented in its outline 

 a barn. The frame work was of lum- 

 ber sawed from trees on the farm. The 

 sides were bales of straw, sheaf wheat 

 was draped over the entrances, and 

 the roof was thatched with fodder. 

 The farm products were displayed on 

 shelves, and vegetables were canned 

 and raw. In the ice box was a dressed 

 turkey and chicken ready for the oven; 

 a rabbit, a 'possum, and a half dozen 

 quail made up the game portion; and 

 the only things missing which the 



