2150 XORTU ami:ricax states 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



son clover ami buckwheat are favore<l cover-crops. 

 Peach-leaf curl is found to a sutticient extent to necessi- 

 tate sprayinp for its control. li\it peach "yellows" is not 

 known to exist and bmwn-rot causes very little trouble. 

 San Jose scale is fomul in a few places. The varieties 

 coninionly grown are (ireensboro, Carman, Mountain 

 Rose, Early Crawford, Champion, Helle of Ceorgia, 

 Elberta and Late Crawford. The Elbcrta is more 

 largely prowii than any other. 



Cherries are grown in a very limited way, there being 

 no orchanl of any size, although both the Early Rich- 

 mond and Montmorency do well. Pears are receiving 

 very little attention at jiresent. 



The graije is ]>lante<l in a few sections but the season 

 is rather short to insure their proper maturity. The 

 Concord, Worden, Delaware, Brighton, and Niagara 

 are mostly grown. 



Of the cultivate<l small-fruits, the strawljerry and red 

 raspl)erry are grown more largely than the others. 

 There is an increasing demand for small-fruits through- 

 out the state as a result of the ever-increasing number 

 of tourists and summer residents. This phase of horti- 

 cultural development offers good returns, especially 

 where it is possible to practise irrigation. 



By far the most imi)ortant small-fruit, however, is 

 the blueberrs". The season extends from early July until 

 niid-Septemtier. There are no statistics as to the actual 

 quantity of blueberries produced in the state, but it is 

 safe to say tliat it is several times greater than the 

 quantity of strawberries. The low-bush blueberry is 

 the earliest in ripening its fruit, followed by the medium 

 and high-bush types. Probably two-thirds of the total 

 crop are from the low-bush plants. New Hampshire 

 an<l Massachusetts blueberries bring the highest prices 

 on the Boston market. This is due to the fact that the 

 berries are largely of the high-quality low -bush type 

 and are almost all hand-picked. The low-bush blue- 

 berries are found mostly on fine, sandy, peaty soils on 

 high lands. In many instances, the sides and rounded 

 tops of hiUs in the southern and central parts of the 

 state are covered with practically a pure stand of low- 

 bush blueberries; on other hills it occurs in open spaces 

 between clumps of the wild ground juniper and native 

 wild spire;is. The high and intermediate bush types are 

 also found on high land but are more common on lower 

 areas and on soils containing more moisture. A very 

 limited start h:is been made in the cultivation of the 

 high-bush blueberry. The low-bush type produces its 

 finest fruit most abundantly on plants two and three 

 years old, hence it is a common practice among owners 

 of low-bush pastures to bum over a portion of the 

 bushes each spring. Large shi])ping centers are the 

 towns of South Lyndeboro, Greenfield, Alton and Mil- 

 ton, but almost aU towns in the southern and central 

 parts of the state ship at least in small quantities. They 

 are usually marketed in the thirty-two-quart strawberry 

 crates. The Boston deuUrs make a imiform charge of 2 

 cents a quart for selling, and the freight to Bo.ston from 

 most points in New llamp.shire is 1.") to 20 cents a crate. 

 As a rule, the average jjrice nets from 12 to 16 cents a 

 quart at the first of the season and 8 to 10 cents a quart 

 at the end of the season. 



Market^gardening has been neglected in the past few 

 years and as a result a largo percentage of green stuff is 

 shipped in from Bo.ston, except in th(! height of the 

 season. However, about Portsmouth and IJover and 

 in the Merrimac Valley, considerable trucking is 

 carried on. The Skinner sysU^ri of irrigation is used in 

 thfsff sections and auto-trucks are used to some extent 

 to market their product. Very little is done in growing 

 vegetables under glass to supply the winter demands 

 and mfjst of the greenhouse vegetables are shipped in 

 from Massachusetts. 



Most of the greenhou.ses are found near the larger 

 tomiB and cities and are mostly devoted to Qu- growing 

 of flowers. Rosea are grown in a large way near Exeter 



and Dover. The growers attribute their success to the 

 tyiie of soil in these sections. One grower at Exeter 

 has !Hi,()0() feel of glass and another near Dover has 

 l.lii.OOO feel, all of which is devoted exclusively to the 

 growing of roses for the Boston trade. The varieties 

 grown are \N'hite aiul I'ink Killarney, Killarney Bril- 

 liant, Ward, Richmond, and Sunburst. 



Some very good exani])les of lamlscape gardening 

 are to be found about Dublin and Peterborough. Most 

 of the estates are owned by sunniier residents. In many 

 other .sections of the state this art is being manifested 

 and considerable money has been expended in beauti- 

 fying the estates, .\bout the numerous sununer hotels 

 through the mountains may be .seen .some good examples 

 of the landscape art. The farm homes are kept up 

 uimsually well. Most of the houses are large and the 

 buildings are kept well painted. Many artistic libraries 

 and churches are to be foimd in the riu'al districts. 



A few varieties of apples have originated in New 

 Hampshire which have become distributed to some 

 extent throughout esist-ern United States. Among the 

 best, known of these are the Granite Beauty, Mildcn, 

 Pilier, aiul Red Russet. 



llistt)rieally. New Hampshire can lay claim to an early 

 recognition of the possibilities of growing fruit-trees and 

 vines. In 1623, Ambrose Gibbons set the first vine- 

 yard, together witli other fruits, near the mouth of the 

 Piscataqua river near Portsmouth. There are many 

 such old horticultural landmarks. 



Many of the early settJcrs came from the south- 

 western comities of England. To them cider and perry 

 seemed almost as necessary as food, and very soon after 

 their arrival they began to set orchards of apples and 

 pears. Their particular object was not the fruit itself, 

 but the beverages made from it. The following item 

 is taken from one of the many town histories that have 

 been published in New Hampshire, and although it may 

 be slightly exaggerated, it gives some idea of the apple 

 industry one hundred years ago: 



"About this time — ISOO to 1810 — the apple orchards 

 in town which had been early set out, proiUiced apples 

 in abimdance, which were made into cider. Every man 

 had his orchard, and every tenth man his cider-mill. 

 Every well-to-do farmer put into his cellar yearly from 

 twenty to fifty barrels of cider which was all drunk on 

 the premises. Col. John Bellows had an orchard of 30 

 acres, the largest in town. In 1805 there were 4,800 

 barrels of cider made and every drop drunk in town." 



Public-sermce agencies for horticulture. 



The New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the 

 Mechanic Arts wiis created by an act of the Legislature 

 in 1866 and was established at Hanover as a state 

 institution, in connection with Dartmouth College. In 

 1893 the College was moved from Hanover to Durham. 

 This action followed the death of Benjamin Thompson, 

 of Durham, a farmer, who diecl January 30, 1890, and 

 left his entire estate, with a few minor reservations, to 

 the college. A department of horticulture was estab- 

 lished in 1895, and at the present time there are five 

 members of the horticultural staff, which includes one 

 instructor who devotes his entire time to extension 

 work. 



The Experiment Station is located at Durham in 

 connection with the Agricultural College. It was 

 established in 1887. There are sixteen members of the 

 staff at^ the present time, representing nine departments. 

 The horticultural department has lea.sed a Baldwin 

 apple orchard near Durham for experimental purposes. 

 There have been issued twenty-five bulletins on horti- 

 cultural subjects. 



The extension work in New Hampshire may be said 

 to have had its real beginning in September, 1911. 

 Among the activities of the extension service, the horti- 

 cultural department has been carrying on some special 

 demonstration work in several orchards. 



