No. 8. 



Progress of Horticulture in Indiana. 



239 



late as April, for twenty-five cents a bushel ; 

 and dull at that. This winter they com- 

 mand thirly-seven cents. Attention is in- 

 creasingly turned to the cultivation of ap- 

 ples for exportation. Our inland orchards 

 will soon find an outlet, both to the Ohio 

 river by rail-road, and the Lakes by canal. 

 The effects of such a delug-e of fruit is wor- 

 thy of some speculation. It will diminish 

 the price but increase the profit of fruit. 

 An analog-ous case is seen in the penny- 

 postage system of England. . Fruit will be- 

 come more generally and largely an article, 

 not of luxury, but of daily and ordinary diet. 

 It will find its way down to the poorest 

 table— ^and the ^i^an/?'/?/ consumed will make 

 up in profit to the dealer, what is lost in 

 lessening its price. A iewf years and the 

 apple crop will be a matter of reckonisg by 

 farmers and speculators, just as is now,, the 

 potatoe crop — the wheat crop — the pork, &c. 

 Nor will it create a home market alone. By 

 care it may be exported with such facility, 

 that the world will receive it as a part of 

 its diet. It will, in this respect, follow the 

 history of grains and edible roots, and from 

 a local and limited use, the apple and the 

 pear will become articles of universal de- 

 mand. The reasons of such an opinion are 

 few and simple. It is a fruit always palat- 

 able — and as such, will be welcome to man- 

 kind whatever their tastes, if it can be 

 brought within their reach. The Western 

 States will, before many years, be forested 

 with orchards. The fruit bears exportation 

 kindly. Thus there will be a stipfly; a 

 possibility of distributing it by commerce, 

 to meet a taste already existing. These 

 views may seem fanciful — may prove so ; 

 but they are analogical. Nor, if I inherit 

 my three-score years and ten, do I expect to 

 die until the apple crop of the United States 

 shall surpass the potatoe crop in value, both 

 for man and beast. It has the double quality 

 of palatableness, raw or cooked, — it is a 

 2)ermanent crop, not requiring annual plant- 

 ing, — and it produces more bushels to the 

 acre than corn, wheat, or, on an average, 

 than potatoes. The calculations may be 

 made, allowing an average of fifteen bush- 

 els to a tree. The same reasoning is true 

 of the pear; — it and the apple, are to hold a 

 place yet, as universal eatables — a fruit- 

 grain, not known in their past history. If 

 not another tree should be set in this county, 

 (Marion co.) in ten years the annual crop of 

 apples will be 200,000 bushels. But Wayne 

 county has double our number of trees, — 

 suppose, however, the 90 counties of Indi- 

 ana to have only 25 trees to a quarter sec- 

 tion of land, i. e., to each 160 acres, the 



crop, of 15 bushels to a tree, would be nearly 

 tivo millions. 



The past year has greatly increased the 

 cultivation of small fruits in the State. 

 Strawberries are found in almost every gar- 

 den, and of select sorts,. None among them 

 all is more popular — or more deservedly so 

 — than Hovey's Seedling. We have a na- 

 tive white strawberry,, removed from our 

 meadows to our gardens, which produces 

 fruit of superior fragrance and flavor. The 

 crop is not large — but continues gradually 

 ripening for many weeks. The blackberry 

 is introduced to the garden among us. The 

 fruit sells at our market for three to five 

 cents, — profit is not therefore the motive 

 for cultivating it, but improvement. I have 

 a ichile variety. Assorted gooseberries and 

 the new raspberries, Franconia and Fastolff, 

 are finding their way into our gardens. The 

 Antwerps we have long had in abundance. 

 If next spring I can produce rhubarb weigh- 

 ing two pounds to the stalk, shall I have 

 surpassed you 1 I have a seedling which 

 last year without good cultivation, produced 

 petioles weighing from eighteen to twenty 

 ounces. My wrist is not very delicate, and 

 yet it is mush smaller in girth than they 

 were. 



In no department is there more decided 

 advance among our citizens than in floricul- 

 ture. In all our rising towns, yards and 

 gardens are to be found choicely stocked. 

 All hardy bulbs are now sought after. Or- 

 namental shrubs are taken from our forests, 

 or imported from abroad, in great variety. 

 Altheas, rose acacia, jessamine, calyean- 

 thus, snowberry, snowball, sumach, syr- 

 ingas, spicewood, shepherdia, dogwood,, red- 

 wood, and other hardy shrubs abound. The 

 rose is an especial favourite. The Bengal, 

 Tea and Noisettes, bear our winters in the 

 open garden with but slight protection. The 

 Bourbon and Remontantes will, however, 

 drive out all old and ordinary varieties. The 

 gardens of tliis town would afford about 

 sixty varieties of roses^ which would be 

 reckoned first-rate in Boston or Philadel- 

 phia. 



While New England suffered under a 

 season of drought, on this side of the moun- 

 tains the season was uncommonly fine, — 

 scarcely a week elapsed without copious 

 sliovvers, and gardens remained moist the 

 whole season. Fruits ripened from two to 

 three weeks earlier than usual. In conse- 

 quence of this, winter fruits are rapidly de- 

 caying. To-day is Christmas— the weather 

 is spring-like, — no snow, — the thermometer 

 this morning 40°. My Noisettes retain their 

 terminal leaves green; and in the southward- 



