SEED FOK PROPAGATION 



his own stock it is always advisable to know as much about 

 the business as possible. 



The work of propagation divides itself naturally into 

 two groups. One, the modern nursery company whose 

 chief business is to grow young trees. Such companies 

 manifest little interest in the production of fruit, growing 

 only what is necessary for the work of production. The 

 other is the orchardist who desires to grow his own stock 

 or to carry on some experiment in connection with his 

 orchard work. Such men are responsible for much of the 

 advancement in horticultural knowledge and their ability 

 should have full recognition among all students of the 

 subject. 



Investments in Nurseries. The U. S. Census of 1910 

 reports 80,000 acres actually employed in the production 

 of nursery stock. This represents an increase of thirty- 

 five per cent over that of the ten preceding years. The 

 capital invested in the above nursery companies approxi- 

 mate $21,000,000. This represents one hundred per cent 

 increase or a doubling in value of the ten-year period. 



Ninety-eight per cent of this business is handled by 

 companies which make that their chief business, while the 

 two per cent represents the work of the orchardists. In 

 1910 there were 2470 nursery concerns in the United States 

 having an average investment of $8348. The distribution 

 of nursery companies is fairly even over the United States. 

 The bulk of the stock, however, is grown in the central 

 States; diminishing toward the north or south. Some of 

 the leading States and the value of their business are repre- 

 sented by the following figures: 



