FRUIT-GROWING 



FRUIT-GROWING 



1291 



is explained under the article Pyrus, However, the 

 root of the word pomology is derived from the Latin 

 ppmurn rather than from the botanical pome. 



The limitations of fruit-growing, as art and discussion, 

 depend on the use of the word "fruit." This word, as 

 used by the horticulturist, is impossible of definition. 

 Products that are classed with fruits in one country 

 may be classed with vegetables in another. To the 

 horticulturist a fruit is a product that is closely asso- 

 ciated, in its origin, with the flower. As used in this 

 country, it is the product of a bush or tree or woody 

 vine, the most marked exception being the strawberry. 

 Most fruits may be grouped under three general heads, 

 orchard or tree fruits, vine fruits (of which the grape 

 is the type), and small-fruits or "berries." Of the 

 orchard fruits, the leading groups are the pome-fruits 

 (apple, pear), drupe-fruits (peach, plum, cherry), and 

 the citrus-fruits (orange, lemon) . Of the small-fruits, we 

 may distinguish the bush-fruits (raspberry, blackberry, 

 currant, gooseberry, blueberry), cranberry, and the 

 strawberry. There are many fruits, particularly in the 

 tropics, that do not fall within these groups. The spe- 



1590. A vineyard of American grapes (New York). 

 Picking-crates are shown in the foreground. 



cies of fruits that are fairly well known in North Amer- 

 Jca are not less than 150, but the important commer- 

 cial species are not more than forty. 



Fruit-growing is the most important and charac- 

 teristic horticultural interest of North America. It is 

 of high excellence as measured by commercial stand- 

 ards, quantity of product, and the quickness with which 

 scientific theory and discovery are applied to it. Most 

 remarkable examples of the quick assimilation and 

 application of theoretical teachings are afforded by the 

 readiness with which fruit-growers within recent years 

 have adopted the ideas associated with tillage, spray- 

 ing, pollination, fertilizing, pruning, inter-planting, 

 and the modifications in conditions of marketing. Yet, 

 great as have been the advances, progress has only 

 begun; and in the precise and painstaking application 

 of the best teaching the American fruit-grower has 

 much to acquire. 



The American ideals in fruit-growing are quite 

 unlike the European. The American aims at uniform- 

 ity over large areas. The European gives more atten- 

 tion to special practices, particularly in training of 

 fruit trees. This is well illustrated in American nur- 

 series as contrasted with European nurseries (see 

 Nursery). The American merely prunes his fruit 

 trees in the nursery: he does not train them. The 

 American is likely to give most attention to the fruit 

 by the bushel or by the barrel; the European is likely 

 to consider his fruits singly or in small numbers, and 

 often to sell them by the piece or by the dozen. 



In many parts of North America, the extension of 



fruit-growing is the most radical change of base tak- 

 ing place in farming operations. This growth of the 

 fruit business is possible because the consumption of 

 fruit is increasing, the facilities for transportation have 

 been improved, scientific discovery has insured the 

 production of good crops, and also because many other 

 kinds of farming have been relatively unprofitable. 



While the phenomenal development of American 

 fruit-growing has been due in great measure to climatic 

 and economic conditions, it also has been hastened by 

 book writings. More than fifty authors have contribu- 

 ted books of greater or less size, either on the general 

 subject or on special fruits, beginning with Coxe's 

 "View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees" in 1817, and 

 followed by Thacher's "American Orchardist" in 1822. 

 These pioneer writings gave much of their space to 

 orchard management, with little mere compilation of 

 descriptions of varieties. Subsequent volumes, for 

 nearly fifty years, were in large part compilations and 

 collations of accounts of varieties. To this latter class 

 belong the works of Prince, Kenrick, Downing, Thomas, 

 Warder. It is only in the present time that we have 

 come to treat the subject fundamentally, by giving the 

 weight of discussion to principles of orchard manage- 

 ment. (For lists of books, see the article Literature.) 

 In recent years, the bulletins of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture and of the many experiment 

 stations, and the extensive discussion in the rural press, 

 have greatly spread the knowledge of fruit-growing 

 and have undoubtedly stimulated its practice. 



The sources of American fruits of the species and 

 races that are cultivated on this continent are chiefly 

 four: (1) Original or early importations of western 

 Asian and European fruits; (2) oriental types, from 

 the China-Japanese region ; (3) the introduction within 

 fifty years of fruits from the Russian region; (4) the 

 development of native species. In the first group are 

 included the prevailing types of apples, pears, quinces, 

 cherries, domestica plums, olives, currants, some of the 

 gooseberries. In the second group are citrous fruits, 

 peaches, apricots, Japanese plums, kaki, and others, 

 many of them having come to us by way of Europe. 

 In the third class the Russian fruits are types of 

 orchard fruits of such recent introduction that we have 

 only recently ceased disputing violently about their 

 merits and demerits; therefore a special review of the 

 subject is given at the close of this article. The fourth 

 class the native fruits includes the grapes of the 

 eastern states, blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, 

 many gooseberries, stra,wberries (of Chilean origin), 

 many plums, cranberries, blueberries, and a few 

 apples. 



Recently, there has been much interest in fruit- 

 growing on the part of persons who desire to establish 

 themselves on the land. The attractiveness of fruit 

 appeals to them, and they think that the raising of it 

 is not laborious and that the business is adaptable to 

 beginners. This is one expression of amateurism. Fruit- 

 growing entails continuous, active and often hard, dis- 

 agreeable labor, and, in the case of most orchard fruits, 

 it requires long waiting for perfect results. The busi- 

 ness demands much special knowledge, quick action, 

 and first-rate salesmanship. The competition is sharp. 

 Persons should enter the business with caution, and 

 only with a full comprehension of the elements of 

 failure and success. The business has additional risk 

 when one must leave the property to be managed and 

 cared for by hired labor. Usually, the most profitable 

 results are secured when part of the farm is devoted to 

 other products than fruit, for one is then able to employ 

 help and equipment more advantageously, to raise 

 produce for the teams and other live-stock, and to have 

 secondary sources of revenue. 



In North America, it is chiefly the commercial large- 

 area fruit-growing that is most highly developed. The 

 amateur phase, for fancy and for home use, was 



