NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2163 



and quality. Varieties of fall apples, such as the Gra- 

 venstein, find a ready market at remunerative prices, 

 while for the main crop, the standard varieties are 

 Rhode Island Greening. Baldwin, Mclntosh and Spy. 

 Of the stone-fruits, the peach is the most largely grown, 

 orchards being found in all sections of the state. Those 

 growers whose orchards are situated on the higher 

 slopes along the shores of Narragansett Bay and upon 

 the island of Rhode Island suffer much less injury from 

 winter-killing of the buds and frost-injury in the spring 

 than do those growers whose orchards are located 

 farther inland; the latter, however, have less trouble 

 with the various fungous diseases. The area devoted 

 to the peach is being extended each season, particu- 

 larly in the counties of Bristol and Newport. Cherries 

 and plums are grown only in very limited quantities, the 

 local markets being supplied almost entirely by ship- 

 ments from other states. The plum is being grown 

 profitably in those sections removed from the seashore. 

 Of the cherries, the sour varieties are the most profitable, 

 on account of the great difficulty in growing the sweet 

 varieties in many sections, and are now being planted 

 more than formerly. 



Pears are not produced in large quantities for market, 

 although the total number of trees of this fruit is large, 

 as it is more commonly grown in the small house-lot 

 than any other fruit. To such an extent is it produced 

 upon these small holdings that the market demand for 

 the summer and early fall varieties is very limited while 

 for the later varieties, such as Bosc, Lawrence and 

 Sheldon, there is an unsupplied demand in the city 

 markets which would probably justify the commercial 

 planting of this fruit. 



In the production of varieties of fruit the state has 

 played little part, its most important contributions 

 being the Rhode Island Greening apple and the Buf- 

 fum pear. 



Of the small-fruits, strawberries and cranberries 

 are of the most importance commercially. The acreage 

 devoted to the small-fruits has shown a very material 

 decrease in recent years. The largest production of 

 strawberries is in Providence and Newport counties, 

 the crop being grown almost entirely in wide matted 

 rows. Cranberries are most largely produced in Provi- 

 dence and Washington counties. When proper atten- 

 tion is given to the bogs, they are the most profitable 

 of the farm areas; the bulk of the crop. is produced upon 

 natural bogs which are overflowed during the winter 

 months by adjacent streams. The prices received are 

 such as to justify the paying of more attention to this 

 crop, as many of the natural bogs are so located 

 as to be easily flooded at a comparatively small 

 expenditure. 



Currants, raspberries and gooseberries are mostly 

 grow T n for home consumption with the result that the 

 markets are never properly supplied. The prices 

 received for these fruits are such as to make them 

 profitable when grown under commercial conditions. 

 Blackberries are not profitable as a rule, owing to the 

 extensive areas of the wild fruit throughout the state. 



Of the horticultural changes during the past decade, 

 the most marked has been the decrease in the produc- 

 tion of vegetables under glass and the increase in 

 floricultural products. Many large ranges of glass 

 which were formerly wholly or in part devoted to the 

 production of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, are 

 now being used for the growing of roses, carnations 

 and lily-of-t he-valley. The area under glass devoted 

 to the production of flowers has more than doubled in 

 the past decade. Where formerly the trade was con- 

 fined almost entirely to cut-flowers, now much atten- 

 tion is being given to the production of potted plants for 

 home-decoration. Vegetable-forcing at present is being 

 conducted, in most cases, as an adjunct to the general 

 market-gardening business, forcing vegetables to 

 maturity only at those seasons of the year when the 



houses and hotbeds are not needed for growing of stock 

 for transplanting to the fields. 



Nursery stock is receiving much more attention than 

 formerly, the area devoted to the growing of nursery 

 stock having been increased two and one-half times 

 during the past ten years. The business is confined 

 almost entirely to the growing of ornamental trees and 

 shrubs. On the island of Rhode Island are several 

 nurseries which make a speciality of those plants best 

 suited for planting near the seashore. Stock from these 

 nurseries, while not making so large a growth of tops 

 as that produced farther inland, has a root-system 

 which is unexcelled. 



Throughout the state are many fine estates, among 

 which may be mentioned the many summer homes in 

 the vicinity of Newport, where the famous cliff walk 

 is lined for several miles with beautiful lawns and 

 grounds, some of which are noted for the fine collec- 

 tions of ornamental trees and shrubs. While one is 

 constantly reminded that Rhode Island is primarily a 

 manufacturing state, yet the large number of fine 

 suburban homes, the small grounds of which are 

 planted with most excellent taste and upon which are 

 found growing collections of fruits which furnish a suc- 

 cession throughout the entire season, shows a high 

 appreciation of nature upon the part of many of her 

 inhabitants. 



The metropolitan park system of the state centered 

 at Providence, which has for its object the development 

 of pleasure-grounds and the conservation of historical 

 sites, is receiving liberal support and the commission 

 in charge of the work is rendering a most valuable 

 service to the state in the development of love for the 

 beautiful in nature. 



Throughout the state many farms which have been 

 neglected by their former owners are passing into the 

 hands of foreigners, especially Italians and Portuguese, 

 who are clearing much of the rough land of rocks and 

 brush and using the land for the growing of truck and 

 fruit. The immediate development of the state will be 

 away from the general farm crops and toward the grow- 

 ing of the more perishable crops. There are within the 

 state most excellent opportunities for the develop- 

 ment of horticultural enterprises, either along the fruit 

 or vegetable lines, as the urban population is increasing 

 much more rapidly than the population engaged in the 

 production of foodstuffs. 



Among those individuals who have exerted a marked 

 influence upon the horticultural development of the 

 state, the following may be mentioned: Solomon 

 Drowne, M.D. (1753-1834), who was professor of 

 botany in Brown University, and in 1824 published "The 

 Farmer's Guide, a Comprehensive Work on Husbandry 

 and Gardening;" the Moore family for many years were 

 very active in the development of fruit-growing and 

 ornamental horticulture in the state, especially Silas 

 Moore (1818-1879), nurseryman; Robert E. Moore 

 (1820-1902), orchardist; Robert I. Moore, (1835- 

 1899), landscape gardener; James Nesbit, landscape 

 gardener; and James A. Budlong (1823-1895), market- 

 gardener. 



Public-service .agencies for horticulture. 



The leading agency in the dissemination of horti- 

 cultural information throughout the state is the Rhode 

 Island State College located at Kingston. This insti- 

 tution was established by act of the state legislature, 

 March 23, 1888, as the Rhode Island State Agricul- 

 tural School, the first class entering in September, 1890. 

 On May 19, 1892, the institution was incorporated by 

 the state legislature and its name changed to the Rhode 

 Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 

 Again, after the passage of the Adams Act by Congress, 

 the name was changed to the Rhode Island State Col- 

 lege, this change occurring May 4, 1909. There are two 

 teaching members of the horticultural staff. 



