21S0 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



orchanl-witos. a bolter choice of variitics, and with 

 ui>-ti>-(iate iiiethixls in caring for and siJrayiiiK the trees, 

 aiui ii\ pickinj;, grading and |)acknig the fruit, a new 

 era in Michigan fniit-cultiire seems at liand. 



While the development in fniil-ciilture in Michigan 

 has been rapid, even greater progress has been ina<le in 

 tlie cultivation of flowei-s and vegetaliles under glass. 

 For the most pari the larger commercial greenhouses 

 are locateti near Detroit or tlrand Rapids, hut every 

 city and many of the villages have greenhouses used 

 for commercial purposes. The houses of today are twice 

 as large in each of their dimensions as thirty years ago. 

 Michigan also has the iir.-^t full-sized, jiortable, com- 

 mercial greenhouse ever constructed, at Redford, near 

 Detroit. 



Equal progress has al.so been made in the size of the 

 flowers, and many of the varieties of roses, carnations 

 and chrysimthemunts develojx'd by Michigan special- 

 ists have also double<i. There is a large wholesale trade 

 in all of the above as well as in violets and sweet peas. 

 The florists' |)lant business is also rapidly incre:i,sing. 

 In addition to the local ticmand, the reputation of the 

 Michigan growers brings orders for chrysanthemum, 

 carnation, rose and geranium plants from all parts of 

 the country. Several gladiolus, dahlia and eanna 

 specialists also do a large plant business. 



The attention given to the growing of greenhouse 

 vegetables has al.so increased. At Cirand Hapiils alone, 

 1,. 500,000 square feet of glass are u.sed for this purpose, 

 the business gi\ing employment to 600 men. The loose- 

 leaf, curled variety of lettuce, known as Cirand Rapids 

 Forcing, is the only kind used. Three crops are grown 

 each year, the last crop being followed by tomatoes, 

 cucumbers or parsley. The heads are packed in paper- 

 lined barrels and shippeil in refrigerator cars to [joints 

 as far distant as Buffalo, Cincinnati and Louisville. 



Many years ago Kalamazoo became known for the 

 fine celery grown there, but there are hundreds of 

 points where an equally fine article is jjroduced today. 

 Many thousand tons are shipped in carload lots and 

 by express all over the country. The soil generally 

 u.sed for this croj) is muckland which has been drained, 

 but where the water stands within 2 feet of the surface, 

 thus afTording sub-irrigation for the crop. Nearly 

 every city and large town has celery gardens to supply 

 the local demand and many of them do a large shipping 

 business. 



There are also many crops commonly classed as 

 garden vegetables which are grown upon such extensive 

 plans as almost to become field-croi)s. Among them are 

 cabbages, onions, watermelons and musknielons, gar- 

 den peas, beans, asparagus, and potatoes. For cabbages 

 and onions, as well as for the growing of celery, the clear- 

 ing of thousands of acres of swampland has furnished 

 almost ideal conditions, and lumdrcds of carloads arc 

 shipped out of the state after sujjplying the local de- 

 mand. There are several "kraut" factories in the state, 

 each of which uses several hunflred tons of cabbages. 



Michigan also leads all other states in the acreage of 

 garden peas and beans, there being an enormous amount 

 used by the canning factories, besides what are required 

 for local consumption and for sliii)[)ing in the fresh 

 state. In field beans the crop equals the coiribined 

 yield of all of the other states, and the yield of potatoes 

 w excelled by few, if any, states. 



In afldition to the area u.sed for the growing of the 

 above-mentioned crops for food purposes, large tracts 

 are flevoted to the production of .seeds, the quality of 

 Michigan-grown seeil being generally recognized by 

 seed.smen who send there for their supply. It is esti- 

 matefi that not less than 15,000 acres are used for grow- 

 ing seed of garden varieties of peas, 10,000 acres for 

 garden beans, 2,000 acres for sweet corn, with 1,000 

 acres of cucumbers, 1 ,000 acres of melons, .500 acres of 

 tomatoes, besides large areas devoted to onion, radish, 

 cabbage and other vegetable .see<ls. 



Keferencc has been ma<le to the use of peas and 

 beans by caitiiing factories, but they also require im- 

 iiK'nsc <|iiant it ics of other vegetables, such as asparagus, 

 rhuliarb, sweet corn, pumpkins, sc)uashes, aiul tomatoes, 

 to say nothing of the cvicumbers, onions, and peppers 

 used for pickling. The length and breadth of the state 

 is dotted with salting and ])ickling stations, the number 

 being little if any less than one thousand. The canning 

 factories al.so use himdreds of thousands of bushels 

 of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, 

 cherries, plums, peaches, j)ears an<l ap|)les. 



To furnish trees for the orchardists in this and other 

 states, there are more than 100 inirseries, from which 

 trees, shrubs and fruit-plants are sold. Several of the 

 larger nurseries are located at Monroe, in the south- 

 east corner of the state, where the soil seems to be 

 especially adapteil for the growing of trees. There are 

 also nearly fifty firms which make a specialty of grow- 

 ing and selling small-fruit jilants. 



Although one generally thinks and speaks especially 

 of the lower peninsula as the horticidturist's paradise, 

 there is an immense area between Lake Michigan and 

 Lake Superior which presents strong claims for recog- 

 nition. While the climate is severe for the more tender 

 species and varieties, the hardier kinds of apples, 

 cherries and plums, as well as the small-fruits, do re- 

 markably well. The fruit excels in color and flavor, and 

 this section has a promising future horticulturally. 



To mention the men who have done most to promote 

 the horticultural interest of Michigan one would have 

 to write a history of horticidture in nearly every county. 

 B. Hathaway, of Little Prairie Ronde, C. Engle, of 

 Paw Paw, and Geo. Hosfortl, of Ionia, have been especi- 

 ally successful in developing new varieties of fruit; 

 I. E. Ilgenfritz, of Monroe, L. G. Bragg, of Kalamazoo, 

 and N. P. Husted, of Lowell, were for many years the 

 proprietors of the largest nurseries in the state; R. M. 

 Kellogg, of Three Rivers, worked for years to develop 

 improved strains of strawberries and for better methods 

 of culture; C. D. and G. W. Lawton were pioneers in 

 the grape industry at Lawton; J. G. Ramsdell and 

 George Parmalec did much to develop an interest in 

 fruit-culture in the Grand Traverse region, and L. H. 

 BaUey was for years the leading apple-grower at South 

 Haven. More than anyone else, T. T. Lyon fostered 

 the interests of horticulture in Michigan (.see Volume 

 III, page 1585). 



Public-service agencies for horticidture. 



The Land-Grant College of Michigan is located at 

 East Lansing, and was established in 1855. There are 

 six members of the horticultural staff. 



The Experiment Station is also situated at East 

 Lansing and the horticultural force consists of six 

 members. Four or five bulletins on horticultural sub- 

 jects are pubhshed each year. Branch stations, at 

 which considerable attention is given to horticulture,' 

 and to fruit-growing in particular, are maintained at 

 South Haven and at Chatham in the U]iper peninsula. 



Extension work is conducted in horticulture, by 

 means of farmers' institutes, extension schools and the 

 like. There are also three men connected with the 

 extension service of the College who give especial 

 attention to horticulture. They are specialists in fruit- 

 growing, the control of insects and diseases, and 

 potato-growing and truck-gardening. 



Horticulture forms a jiart of the curriculum at the 

 state normal schools at Kalamazoo and Mt. Pleasant 

 and at the Menominee and Chippewa county agricul- 

 tural schools, and is given coasiderable attention at 

 fifty high-schools which have an agricultural depart- 

 ment. 



The work of the State Horticultural Society in fur- 

 thering th(! horticultural interests should not be over- 

 looked. lOstablished in 1870 as the State Pomological 

 Society, its field of work gradually broadened until 1880 



