NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2277 



acre can be grown in Nevada, and under skilful culti- 

 vation the output can be increased to twelve tons. The 

 average price is $20 a ton, the price fluctuating between 

 $12 and $25. Early varieties adapted to the state are 

 Early Ohio, Rose Seedling, and Early Rose; the late 

 varieties, White Pearl, Rural New Yorker No. 2, Per- 

 fect Peachblow, Great Divide, Burbank, and Peerless. 

 The greater part of the potatoes grown in Nevada 

 come from three counties, Lyon, Washoe, and Elko, 

 the ratio in 1910 being 25.9, 25.7, and 8.5 per cent re- 

 spectively. In southern Nevada, only early marketing 

 is profitable, for potatoes do not keep well in that 

 climate. 



It is probable that the area of potato land can be 

 further increased by the use of dry-farming on the 

 higher slopes of the mountain valleys, where the con- 

 ditions of rainfall and frost are much more favorable 

 than in the center of the valleys below. The rainfall 

 should be at least 12 inches and preferably 15 to 18 

 inches, and the slope free from frost after the first of 

 May. The only serious pest is the eelworm, a nematode 

 gallworm, which causes some trouble. This parasite 

 can be partially controlled by planting clean seed and 

 rotating cereal crops with potatoes. Fall plowing and 

 exposure of the soil to the hot sun has been suggested 

 as a feasible method in Nevada where the winter cold 

 is not sufficiently prolonged to destroy the eggs and 

 larvae. 



The culture of onions is highly profitable if they are 

 planted on the best soil, for the dryness and low tem- 

 perature "make it comparatively easy to keep well- 

 matured bulbs in inexpensive storage-houses until the 

 market becomes favorable, which usually occurs after 

 January 1, when the bulk of the California crop has 

 been marketed." The best fields yield twenty tons an 

 acre, and the normal price is $20 a ton. 



The soil of western Nevada is well adapted to the 

 growing of sugar-beets, which attain a general average 

 of 18 per cent sugar. A beet-sugar factory at Fallon 

 (Churchill County) on the Truckee-Carson Project has a 

 capacity of 65,000 tons per annum, but tariff conditions 

 and the difficulty of establishing a local market for 

 beet-sugar have so far seriously retarded the industry. 



Since watermelons and cantaloupes are perishable, 

 their commercial cultivation is dependent upon the 

 quality of the product placed on the market. In north- 

 ern Nevada, they mature late and consequently must 

 come into direct competition with the produce of north- 

 ern California. In southern Nevada, the cantaloupe is 

 well adapted to the climate and is matured by the mid- 

 dle of July, after the season in Imperial Valley is over 

 and before the season in Utah and Colorado has begun. 

 Consequently, there is a potential market on either 

 side. At present cantaloupes constitute the chief crop 

 of Moapa Valley (Clark County) and vicinity. In 1913, 

 $80,000 or $160 an acre was realized from their sale 

 after transportation charges and commissions were 

 paid. In 1914 the crop was 75 per cent larger, but owing 

 to unfortunate markets the profits were less. The most 

 serious drawback is the melon aphis which is difficult 

 to control. The varieties of watermelons are Kleckley 

 Sweets, Halbert Honey, and Florida Favorite, and of 

 cantaloupes Emerald Gem, New Fordhook, and Rocky 

 Ford. 



Celery is still an experimental crop, and in northern 

 and western Nevada, skill is necessary to carry it through 

 the warm summer. The celery is of excellent texture 

 and good flavor, and the crop, although limited, is so 

 valuable that it is shipped even into California, where 

 it sells at a higher price than the local product. Since 

 much labor and care are required in securing a good 

 product, there seems little prospect of over-production. 



Asparagus thrives in both northern and southern 

 Nevada and will grow in soils too alkaline for most 

 other crops. Furthermore, little summer irrigation is 

 required. In southern Nevada, it is a poor second to 



cantaloupes as a commercial crop. It is marketed for 

 six weeks in March and April in Chicago and other 

 eastern cities. A canning factory is essential to care for 

 the output after distant shipments are unprofitable. 



The market and home gardens produce practically 

 all of the vegetables grown in temperate climates, 

 particularly beans, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, 

 corn, cucumbers, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, peas, 

 pumpkins, radishes, squashes, sweet potatoes, ruta- 

 bagas, tomatoes, and turnips. In southern Nevada, 

 tomatoes ripen from late May until late November or 

 December, the crop, however, being very light during 

 the heat of summer. Commercial gardening in western 

 Nevada is mainly in the hands of Italians, and the prices 

 are reasonable. Except in southern Nevada, the market 

 is local and is forced to compete to a certain extent with 

 California. The winter-grown vegetables of southern 

 Nevada find a parcel-post market in Salt Lake City. 

 Lettuce has been shipped in carload lots, but the mar- 

 keting of it has not always been successful. 



Practically all the flowers and shrubs that are grown 

 in the northern part of the United States, as well as the 

 hardy perennials of California, grow well in northern 

 Nevada. Peonies and bulbous plants bloom with only 

 occasional injury from frost, and, owing to the lateness 

 of the Nevada season, would find a ready market in 

 California, if grown commercially. Owing to the dryness 

 of the atmosphere, English holly does not thrive in this 

 climate. 



In southern Nevada, such semi-tropical plants as the 

 oleander, the ornamental date palm, and weeping fan 

 palm have been grown successfully. The bamboo and 

 the pampas grass, which find a congenial environment 

 in northern Nevada also, here grow to stately pro- 

 portions, while the chrysanthemum supplies almost 

 perfect blooms in the garden until after Thanksgiving. 



Commercial greenhouse floriculture should be emi- 

 nently successful, for the percentage of sunshine in the 

 winter in Nevada is far in excess of that in California, 

 and flowers can be grown in one-half the time. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The Agricultural College is situated at Reno and was 

 established in 1888. It is an integral part of the Uni- 

 versity of Nevada. There is one member on the horti- 

 cultural staff. 



The Experiment Station is also at Reno and is a 

 department of the University. The University and the 

 Experiment Station possess two orchards, one exposed 

 to frequent frosts, the other reasonably free from them. 

 Two horticultural bulletins have been published, one 

 on ornamental trees and shrubs, the other on the 

 avoidance and prevention of frost. 



A limited amount of extension work in horticulture is 

 given. The Public Service Department of the Univer- 

 sity maintains an inspection service for plant insects 

 and diseases, but not for fruit-grading. 



Statistics (Thirteenth Census). 



The approximate land area of Nevada in 1910 was 

 70,285, 440 acres. The land in farms numbered 2,714,- 

 757 acres, or 3.9 per cent of the land area. The amount 

 of improved land in farms was 752,117 acres; the 

 amount of woodland in farms, 48,209 acres; and there 

 were 1,914,431 acres of other unimproved land in 

 farms. The number of all farms was 2,689 and the 

 average acreage to the farm 1,009.6. [The total area of 

 the state is 110,690 square miles.] 



The leading agricultural crops of the state are hay 

 and forage, and cereals. In 1909 the acreage devoted to 

 hay and forage was 350,538, an increase of '20 per cent 

 in acreage since 1899. The value of the production in 

 1909 was $4,185,071, which was 70.7 per cent of the 

 total value of all the crops. The acreage in cereals in 

 1909 was 34,958, as compared with 31,075 in 1899; the 

 production in 1909 was valued at $923,763, or 15.6 per 



