221M NORTH AMKRICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



blight is smnin;u'izcil in South Divkota Kxin'rinu'iil- 

 Station Bulletin No. loO, April, li)l."). 



An effort has bivn niaiie to iiii|)rove the wiUl jirairie 

 ros»> of the Canadian Northwest, ami the tjiberian form 

 of /I'osa rn<;<>.-.(i. Dut of nian>' se<'illiu};s, only one variety, 

 the Tetonkaha, has bivn ilisseniinaled. 



Florieulture is still in its early youth, there beinK 

 but few grtvnhouses in the state. The rieh soil makes it 

 easy to raisi' lar;^ erops of vegetables, bvit so far, the 

 truekinp interests have assumed no ini])ortanee, excei)t. 

 near the larjjer towns. Agrieulture has been extensive, 

 rather than intensive. In a state yieldinf; heavy eroi)S 

 of wheat and other eereals, with a soil so rieh that eom- 

 niereial fertilizers are not thounht of and barnyard 

 manure so little considered that many farmers ]irefer 

 to move their barns rather than their nuiTuire heaps, 

 and with the burning of straw a common ])raetice, 

 the hix; is rarely seen; gang- and sulky-plows, self- 

 binders and riding-cultivators are the more favored 

 implements. In the course of time, with the increiuse 

 in population, will come a change in methods. Eastern 

 farmers and gardeners find that the soil and climate 

 demand decided modificaticms of eastern practices. 



Of conifers, the hemlock, white jjinc, balsam fir, 

 arbor-\ita' and Norway s])ruce fail in the o])en prairie, 

 while Jack i)ine, bull pine, Scotch j)ine, northern red 

 cedar, western white spruce, and Colorado silver or 

 blue spruce all do well in open ex^posure. Of tleciduous 

 trees, the native species, such as ash, elm, box elder, 

 black wild cherry ;md hackberrj-, all do well. Cotton- 

 wood and willows do well on moist land. Considerable 

 loss was experienced in the earlier planting from a fail- 

 ure to recognize the fact that species covering a wide 

 geographical range varj- greatly in hardiness and that 

 the local indigenous form should be planted when 

 possible. 



Many of the hardy pioneer men and women have 

 contributed to the horticultural interests of South 

 Dakota. .Among these may be mentioned: Aaron Car- 

 penter, pioneer orchardist and nurserTiTnan; H. C. 

 Warner, who tested many fruits, trees and flov/ers; 

 Col. C. W. Gurney, ])omologist and nurseryman; and 

 A. \V. Krueger, for five years president of the State 

 Horticultural Society. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The South Dakota College of Agriculture and 

 Mechanic Arts is located at Brookings, and was estab- 

 lished in 1881. There is one professor of horticulture. 



The Experiment Station is also at Brookings and is 

 in connection with the College. Of the 159 buUetiiLS 

 published by the Station (June, 191.5), forty are on 

 horticultural .subjects. 



The only special school teaching horticulture in the 

 state is the College. However, some horticulture is 

 taught in connection with agriculture in the pubhc 

 schools. 



The South Dakota State Horticultur.al Society is 

 composed of the amateur and professional fruitmen 

 of the state, and was incorjjorated in 1890. By state 

 law, this Sfjciety is made the Department of Horticul- 

 ture for South Dakota. 



ExteiLsion work in horticulture is conducted by the 

 College in the form of farmers' institutes and the like. 



No inspection service is (jrovided for in fruit-grading. 

 The Department of Entomology of the State College 

 has charge of the inspection .service for nur.series. 



Statinlioi (ThirteerUh Census). 



The approximate land area in 1910 was 49,195,.')20 

 acres. The land in farms was .52.9 per cent of the land 

 area, or 20,010,892 acres. Of this land in farms, the 

 improved land numljered 15,827,208 acres, the wood- 

 land .383,144 acres, and other unimprovcil land in 

 farms 9,806,-540 acres. The total number of farms in 

 1910 was 77,ft44, and the average acreage a farm was 



;535.1. [The total area of South Dakota is 77,1515 

 square miles,] 



Tlie leading agricultural crops of South Dakota are 

 cereals and \\:\\ and forage. The acreage devoted to 

 the cereals incn''a.sed from f.,21I,22:? hi 1.S99 to 8,203,519 

 in 1909, when the iiroduction was valued at $98,953,0.50, 

 which was 7.S.S per cent of the total value of all crops. 

 Hay and forage increased in acreage from 2,287,875 in 

 1899 t(i 3,435,().5() in 1909, when the production was 

 valued at $1 5,243,()t;4. In 1909, from 518,566 acres, there 

 were harvested 4,7.59,794 bushels of flaxseed, valued at 

 $7,001,717. The value of the forest products of the 

 farms in 1909 was $257,126, as compared with $106,284 

 hi 1899. 



Horticultural crops grown in South Dakota are 

 fruits and nuts, small-fruits, potatoes and vegetables, 

 and flowers, plants, ami nursery products. The value of 

 the fruits and nuts produced in 1909 was $215,639, as 

 comiiared with $31,964, in 1899. Small-fruits increased 

 in acreage from 161 in 1899 to 419 in 1909, when the 

 production was 401,295 quarts, valued at $47,263. The 

 total acreage of potatoes and other vegetables in 1909 

 w;is 65,209, and their value, $3,001,574. Excluding 

 potatoes, the acreage of other vegetables increased 

 from 7,954 in 1899 to 15,1.50 in 1909, when the pro- 

 duction was valued at $1,033,163. Flowers, plants, and 

 nursery products increa.sed in acreage from 211 in 1899 

 to 418 in 1909, when the value of the production was 

 $120,835. 



The total quantity of orchard fruits produced in 

 1909 was 229,907 bushels, valued at $209,339. Apples 

 contributed about five-sixths of this quantity, plums 

 and prunes most of the remainder. The production of 

 apples in 1909 was 191,784 bushels, valued at $158,729. 

 The number of apple trees of bearing age in 1910 num- 

 bered 274,862; those not of bearing age, 460,547. The 

 plum and prune trees of bearing age in 1910 numbered 

 268,208, and those not of bearing age, 172,186. The 

 production in 1909 was 31,748 bushels, valued at 

 $36,872. Cherry trees of bearing age in 1910 num- 

 bered 51,613; tho.se not of bearing age, 76,293. The 

 production in 1909 was 5,924 bushels, valued at 

 $12,981. Other orchard-fruits produced in 1909 were 

 162 bushels of pears, valued at $447; 148 bushels of 

 peaches and nectarines, valued at $167; and 120 bushels 

 of mulberries, valued at $123. The value of the apricots 

 and quinces was of little or no importance. 



The production of grapes in 1909 was 144,634 pounds, 

 valued at $4,789. The grape-vines of bearing age in 

 1909 numbered 38,647; those not of bearing age, 

 46,891. 



The production of nuts in 1909 was 73,715 pounds, 

 valued at $1,511. The only important nut in South 

 Dakota in 1909 was the black walnut, the production 

 of this alone being 72,659 pounds, valued at $1,490. 



Of the small-fruits grown in South Dakota, straw- 

 berries are the most important, with raspberries and 

 loganberries ranking next. The acreage of strawberries 

 increased from 62 in 1899 to 226 in 1909, when the pro- 

 duction was 238,164 quarts, valued at .$26,764. Rasp- 

 berries increa-sed in acreage from 21 in 1899 to 66 in 

 1909, when the production was 60,285 quarts, valued 

 at $8,703. Currants increased in acreage from 38 in 

 1899 to 67 in 1909, when the production was 52,951 

 quarts, valued at .$6,021. Gooseberries increased in 

 acreage from 25 in 1899 to 55 in 1909, when the produc- 

 tion was 43,408 quarts, valued at $4,926. Other small- 

 fruits produced in 1909 were 6,058 quarts of black- 

 berries and dewberries, valued at $809; and 288 quarts 

 of cranberries, valued at $25. 



The acreage of potatoes increased from 33,567 in 

 1899 to 50,0.52 in 1909, when the production was 

 3,441,692 bushels, valued at $1,967,550. The more 

 imiiortant of the other vegetables produced were: 175 

 acres of cabbage, valued at $13,759; 104 acres of onions, 

 valued at $13,133; 579 acres of sweet com, valued at 



