2192 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



is much less trouble from disease than in many more 

 humid sections. There are two vegetable-growers' 

 associations in the state. The Minneapolis and St. 

 Paul associations, which have a membership of over 

 200, have been very instrumental in getting a more 

 uniform and better grade of produce on the market. 

 While they do not attempt to set the price of produce, 

 they have proved of much value to the trucking 

 interests both in raising and marketing produce. 



One of the important crops of the state is potatoes. 

 These are grown quite largely in the Red River Valley 

 and in the section of country north and northeast of 

 Minneapolis nearly to Duluth. Large quantities are 

 shipped South and West for seed purposes. Special 

 potato organizations have taken hold of the work and 

 are building an important business. 



The growing of vegetables under glass has increased 

 greatly in the past few years. Lettuce, tomatoes, and 

 cucumbers are the principal crops grown under glass, 

 although mint, cress, radishes, and parsley are grown 

 to some extent, and find a ready market. A number of 

 larger growers have installed irrigation systems in their 

 greenhouses and find them very satisfactory. They 

 are also used to some extent for outdoor crops. Proba- 

 bly $800,000 to $1,000,000 is invested in the business. 

 Mushrooms for market are grown to a considerable 

 extent about the Twin Cities. One of the largest pure- 

 culture mushroom-spawn plants in the country is 

 located in St. Paul. This same plant grows large 

 quantities of mushrooms for market. 



There are something over 100 nurseries in Minne- 

 sota, totaling about 3,000 acres of land and ranging in 

 size from an acre or less to 250 or 300 acres of actual 

 nursery stock. Large importations of bulbs and plants 

 are made from Europe and from outside the state each 

 year. Up to the present time, much of the nursery 

 stock except fruit has been propagated outside the 

 state. With the advent of more greenhouses in con- 

 nection with the business, much more stock is now 

 propagated at home. Nearly all nurseries doing a large 

 business have established landscape-gardening depart- 

 ments to handle their increasing work along ornamental 

 lines. A number of nurseries have been established 

 specializing only in ornamental shrubs, peonies, iris and 

 perennials. 



The demand for ornamental horticulture is consider- 

 able and rapidly increasing, giving investment to at 

 least $1,000,000 in the greenhouse business, besides 

 large quantities of flowers and plants purchased out- 

 side the state and sold through retail flower-stores. 

 Carnations, violets and chrysanthemums are grown in 

 large quantities. A limited amount of sweet peas, 

 snapdragons, and the like, are also grown and easily 

 disposed of. Large quantities of bulbs, such as tulips, 

 narcissi, and Easter lilies, are forced principally for 

 Christmas and Easter. Roses and some other flowers 

 are brought in from growers outside of the state to a 

 considerable extent, although there are a number of 

 large growers in the state. Peonies, dahlias, asters, 

 sweet peas and iris are grown in large quantities out- 

 side for cut-flowers. The demand for these has devel- 

 oped a number of specialists who supply the very best 

 class of material. Minneapolis and St. Paul each have 

 strong florist associations. 



The love for horticulture is also shown by the immense 

 sums spent by the cities and small towns for public 

 parks. Minneapolis alone has 3,800 acres of city parks, 

 50 miles of drives and 1,305 acres of lake surface. St. 

 Paul, Duluth, and other cities and towns of the state 

 will easily bring the park acreage up to 8,000 or 10,000 

 acres. Besides this, there are three or four state parks, 

 containing something over 1,000 acres, and about 44,000 

 acres of forest reserve, a part of which is used as a 

 natural public park or playground. These parks are 

 visited by several millions of persons each year, and 

 undoubtedly exert much influence. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The University of Minnesota is at Minneapolis, 

 and in 1869 the Department of Agriculture was 

 established at St. Anthony Park about 3 miles from the 

 main campus. Here are located the Experiment Sta- 

 tion, School of Agriculture, and College of Agriculture. 

 Although the Agricultural Department was established 

 in 1869, it was not of much importance until about 

 1885, when a part of the present farm was purchased 

 and the first School of Agriculture established in 1889. 

 There are sub-stations at Crookston, Morris, Grand 

 Rapids, Waseca, and Duluth. A trial fruit station is 

 maintained at Owatonna. This was originally used for 

 raising apple seedlings, but this work has now been 

 taken over by the Fruit Breeding Farm at Excelsior 

 and the Owatonna Station is used only as a trial sta- 

 tion. 



Schools of agriculture are maintained at Crookston 

 and Morris, in which horticulture is taught to some 

 extent. Horticulture is taught in most of the high- 

 schools in the state having agricultural courses. School- 

 gardens and nature-study classes in some form or other 

 are to be found in nearly all schools. 



The Extension Division of the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment has a horticulturist who holds institutes, short 

 course lectures, and demonstrations in horticulture 

 throughout the state. Members of the regular Station 

 staff aid in this work to some extent. 



Several hundred farmers' clubs scattered throughout 

 the state are aiding in the spread of better agricul- 

 tural methods. Many of these clubs have special horti- 

 cultural programs and committees and study horticul- 

 tural problems systematically. 



The Minnesota State Horticultural Society is a very 

 strong and popular organization. Great interest is 

 taken in the raising of seedling apples, and at some of 

 the state fair meetings more than 300 separate varieties 

 of Minnesota origin have been shown. A number of 

 years ago $1;000 was offered for a seedling winter 

 apple, especially adapted to Minnesota conditions. No 

 one has yet been able to claim the prize. One hundred 

 dollars is offered as a prize for a seedling plum of certain 

 qualities, and about $1,000 in prizes are offered for the 

 encouragement of apple-growing. The Society has 

 some eight or ten trial stations operated in different 

 parts of the state at which new fruits, flowers, and so 

 on, are tested. Through the reports of the superin- 

 tendents of these stations, a fair index of the value of a 

 plant for general use may be obtained. There are a 

 number of local horticultural societies in the state 

 besides a state florist society, which affiliate with the 

 State Horticultural Society. There are also two or 

 three vegetable associations. 



The legislature of 1907 appropriated $16,000 for 

 buying land for a fruit-breeding farm. Near Excelsior, 

 77.89 acres were purchased and equipped with green- 

 house, house, storage-cellar, barn and other buildings. 

 Large numbers of seedling strawberries, plums, rasp- 

 berries and apples are being grown there. The seedling 

 apples are just beginning to fruit, but very promising 

 seedling plums, strawberries and raspberries have 

 already been produced and are distributed over the 

 state. Excellent results have been obtained and its 

 usefulness is just beginning. Nearly the whole acreage 

 is now in seedling fruits bred at this farm. 



Statistics (Thirteenth Census). 



In 1910 the approximate land area of Minnesota was 

 51,749,120 acres. The land in farms was 27,675,823 

 acres, or 53.5 per cent of the land area. Of the land 

 in farms 19,643,533 acres were improved; 3,922,391 

 acres were in woodland; and 4,109,899 acres were unim- 

 proved. The number of all the farms in the state in 

 1910 was 156,137. The average acreage to a farm was 

 177.3. [The total area of the state of Minnesota is 

 84,682 square miles.] 



