2164 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



The Rhode Island Experiment Station, located at 

 Kingston, is a department of the State College, its 

 work being conducted by a staff of seventeen. At pres- 

 ent there is no horticulturist upon the staff. There 

 have been published nineteen horticultural bulletins, 

 besides numerous horticultural articles in the annual 

 reports. 



Horticulture is not taught in any of the public schools 

 of the state as a text-book subject. School-gardens 

 were established by the Extension Department of the 

 State College in 1905, which work has developed very 

 rapidly since 1908, the cooperation of the State Board 

 of Agriculture and school authorities of the various 

 cities and towns having been secured at that time. In 

 addition to the school-garden work, the Extension Ser- 

 vice conducts orchard demonstrations in spraying and 

 pruning. 



The State Board of Agriculture is by law empowered 

 to employ an entomologist who has charge of all nursery 

 inspection work in connection with insect pests and 

 diseases. 



The most important societies of horticultural inter- 

 est in the state are the Rhode Island Horticultural 

 Society of Providence, Newport Horticultural Society, 

 Florists' and Gardeners' Club of Providence and the 

 Providence Market-Gardeners' Association. The latter 

 society has for its object the betterment of conditions 

 under which the growers for the Providence market 

 dispose of their produce. 



Statistics (Thirteenth Census). 



The approximate land area in 1910 was 682,880 acres. 

 The land in farms was 64.9 per cent of the land area, 

 or 443,308 acres. Of this land in farms, the improved 

 land numbered 178,344 acres; the woodland, 185,909 

 acres; and other unimproved land in farms 79,055 acres. 

 The number of all the farms in 1910 was 5,292, and the 

 average acreage was 83.8. [The total area of Rhode 

 Island is 1,248 square miles.] 



The leading agricultural crops of the state are hay 

 and forage and cereals. The acreage devoted to hay and 

 forage decreased from 69,776 in 1899 to 61,327 in 1909, 

 when the production was valued at $1,309,717, which 

 was 33.3 per cent of the total value of all crops. Cereals 

 increased in acreage from 10,552 in 1899 to 12,112 in 

 1909, when the production was valued at $376,097. 

 The value of the forest products of the farms was 

 $312,022 in 1909, as compared with $195,472 in 1899. 



Horticultural crops produced in Rhode Island are 

 fruits and nuts, small-fruits, potatoes and other vege- 

 tables, and flowers and plants and nursery products. 

 The value of fruits and nuts produced in 1909 was 

 $207,844, as compared with $160,411 in 1899. Small- 

 fruits decreased in acreage from 581 in 1899 to 281 in 

 1909 when the production was 437,560 quarts, valued 

 at $43,033. The total acreage of potatoes and other 

 vegetables in 1909 was 9,924, and their value $1,045,093. 

 Excluding potatoes, the other vegetables increased 

 from 5,165 in 1899 to 5,275 in 1909, when the produc- 

 tion was valued at $636,656. Flowers and plants and 

 nursery products increased in acreage from 263 in 1899 

 to 502 in 1909, when the production was valued at 

 $634,087. 



The production of orchard fruits in 1909 was 245,822 

 bushels, valued at $197,639. Apples produced most 

 of this quantity, and peaches and nectarines and pears 

 most of the remainder. The number of apple trees of 

 bearing age in 1910 was 152,009; those not of bearing 

 age 54,560, and the production in 1909 was 212,908 

 bushels, valued at $147,125. Peach and nectarine 

 trees of bearing age in 1910 numbered 39,342; those 

 not of bearing age 30,795, and the production in 1909 

 was 17,704 bushels, valued at $30,609. Pear trees of 

 bearing age in 1910 numbered 16,907 ; those not of bear- 

 ing age 5,405 and the production in 1909 was 12,501 

 bushels, valued at $14,577. Other orchard fruits pro- 



duced were: 1,872 bushels of plums and prunes, valued 

 at $3,586; 618 bushels of quinces, valued at $1,267; 

 and 214 bushels of cherries, valued at $464. 



The production of grapes in 1909 was 152,937 pounds, 

 valued at $9,759. The grape-vines of bearing age in 

 1910 numbered 7,662; those not of bearing age, 9,634. 

 Nuts are of little importance, the production in 1909 

 being valued at $49. 



Strawberries are the most important of the small- 

 fruits grown in Rhode Island. The acreage of straw- 

 berries decreased from 154 in 1899 to 140 in 1909, 

 when the production was 326,540 quarts, valued at 

 $31,712. Cranberries decreased in acreage from 300 in 

 1899 to 70 in 1909, when the production was 34,688 

 quarts valued at $2,734. Raspberries and loganberries 

 decreased in acreage from 57 in 1899 to 34 in 1909, 

 when the production was 32,871 quarts, valued at 

 $4,197. Other small-fruits produced in 1909 were: 

 17,875 quarts of blackberries and dewberries, valued at 

 $1,927; 17,110 quarts of currants, valued at $1,564 and 

 8,251 quarts of gooseberries, valued at $852. 



Potatoes in Rhode Island decreased in acreage from 

 5,816 in 1899 to 4,649 in 1909 when the production 

 was 552,677 bushels, valued at $408,429. The more 

 important of the other vegetables produced were: 

 790 acres of sweet corn, valued at $49,440; 37 acres 

 of celery, valued at $26,880; 192 acres of cabbage, 

 valued at $25,818; 152 acres of onions, valued at 

 $23,828; 187 acres of tomatoes, valued at $22,898; 196 

 acres of turnips, valued at $21,050; 199 acres of cucum- 

 bers valued at $18,330; 93 acres of asparagus, valued 

 at $17,504; 154 acres of beans, valued at $13,305; 11 

 acres of lettuce, valued at $14,670; 205 acres of peas, 

 valued at 12,790; and 8 acres of radishes, valued at 

 $10,269. Vegetables valued at less than $10,000 were 

 beets, cantaloupes and muskmelons, carrots, cauli- 

 flower, eggplant, parsnips, green peppers, pumpkins, 

 rhubarb, spinach, and watermelons. 



The acreage devoted to the production of flowers 

 and plants increased from 177 in 1899 to 290 in 1909. 

 The total area under glass in 1909 was 2,027,643 square 

 feet. Of this area 1,882,314 square feet were covered by 

 greenhouses, and 145,329 by sashes and frames. The 

 value of the flowers and plants produced in 1909 was 

 $558,543, as compared with $314,806 in 1899. 



The acreage devoted to nursery products increased 

 from 86 in 1899 to 212 in 1909, when the value of the 

 products was $75,544, as compared with $42,295, the 

 value of the nursery products produced in 1899. 



GEORGE E. ADAMS. 



Connecticut. 



While Connecticut (Fig. 2492) is one of the smallest 

 states, covering but one degree of latitude (41 to 42), 

 it is adapted to as wide a range of horticultural produc- 

 tions as any state outside of the semi-tropic fruit-belt, 

 owing to the great diversity of soil and varying eleva- 

 tions, from the sea-level along the whole southern 

 border, to 900 and 1,200 feet in sections of Tolland 

 County, and 1,200 and 1,500 in parts of Litchfield. 

 The "season" of many of the quick-maturing species 

 and varieties of fruits, flowers and vegetables is often 

 entirely over on the light soil in the Connecticut 

 Valley and along the Sound shore when like species 

 and varieties are but just beginning to ripen on the 

 cooler, moist soils of the hills of Tolland and Litchfield 

 counties. 



Strawberries and green peas from East Hartford and 

 Glastonbury supply the Hartford market, while on 

 the Bolton hills, only 12 miles away, the blooming 

 vines give promise of the crop that is to come after the 

 valley season is entirely over; so that "home-grown" 

 strawberries are usually to be had in the Hartford 

 market for a period of six or seven weeks. The Sound 

 shore, Housatonic Valley and Litchfield hills supply 



