MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. | 77 
\ REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
. MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 15th, 1876. 
} To the President of the State Horticultwral Society, St. Paul: 
Horticultural Literature. 
Dear Str :—If some one would gather from horticultural literature all 
that has certainly been known, in the theory and practice of gardening, the 
work would be of immense value. The attention of the Society is called 
to the fact that we have not a work of this kind. It is, to say the least, 
not pleasant for a committee to report what they may think to be new and 
find that it is like a tale twice told, and yet the fact is, it must be new to 
many of us, or we should not hear so often the query, ‘‘ what kind of soils 
are best adapted to various kinds of fruits and vegetables; what the best 
mode of cultivation, and the varieties best adapted to our soil and climate.” 
That we hear these and similar questions almost every day—we gladly re- 
port as an increasing interest in new and improved varieties of vege- 
tables. 
Object. 
The object of gardening is that we may have pleasure and profit thereby. 
The chief source of pleasure is to attain the highest perfection, to assist na- 
ture in the process of furnishing food, and the instruction we receive while 
thus engaged. If we fail to realize the importance of the meee gardening 
for profit must and will be a failure. 
Statistics. 
We are unable to give the exact amount of garden seed imported and 
raised in our State; neither can we give the amount of vegetables grown, 
but we do find that each year the demand has increased, and the present 
year the increase has been beyond the average of any of its predecessors, 
while a visit to the St. Panl and other markets show that the quality has 
improved with the demand, and are now supplied with vegetables equal to, 
and in some respects superior, to the eastern markets. Together they rep- 
resent a cash value of thousands of dollars. 
Transpvanting. 
The remarkable effect of transplanting on the growth and habits of some 
kinds of vegetation is worthy of notice. Ina small flower garden on the 
Experimental Farm the third transplanting gave a greater number, and 
more perfect flowers. The effect was even more remarkable in the culti- 
vation of vegetables. In the Experimental Gardens on our State Farm the 
third transplanting increased the size of head vettuce one-half over one 
transplanting, and the corresponding varieties were improved in that re- 
spect—cabbage, celery, cauliflower, brocoli, each showed a marked im- 
provement by the third setting. 
