1858 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



perature, in its known extremes, ranges 

 from 46 below zero to 111 above. There 

 are places where irrigation is carried on 

 to considerable extent, notably in the 

 Black Hills region, where the water is 

 supplied by the North Fork and South 

 Fork of the Cheyenne river, and in cer- 

 tain districts where the water is supplied 

 from artesian wells, that furnish abun- 

 dant supply and good pressure at small 

 cost. Granville Lowther 



South Dakota is not a great fruit-pro- 

 ducing country. The following from the 

 United States Census Reports will give 

 a pretty good idea of its relative im- 

 portance in horticulture: 



Small fruits: 1909 and 1899. The fol- 

 lowing table shows data with regard to 

 small fruits on farms: 



CROP 



Small Fruits, total 



Strawberries 



Blackberries and dewberries. 

 Easpberries and loganberries. 



Currants, 



Gooseberries 



Cranberries 



other berries 



Number 



of farms 



reporting 



1909 



1,836 

 112 

 519 



1,448 



7 

 3 



1 Reported in small fractions. 



Strawberries are by far the most im- 

 portant of the small fruits raised in 

 South Dakota, with raspberries and lo- 

 ganberries ranking next. The produc- 

 tion in 1909 was 401,000 quarts, as com- 

 pared with 166,000 quarts in 1899, and 

 the value $47,263, as compared with 

 $16,629. 



Orchard fruits, grapes and nuts: 1909 

 and 1899. The next table presents data 

 with regard to orchard fruits, grapes and 

 nuts. The acreage devoted to these prod- 

 ucts was not ascertained. In comparing 

 one year with the other the number of 

 trees or vines of bearing age is on the 

 whole a better index of the general 

 changes or tendencies than the quantity 

 of product, but the data for the censuses 

 of 1910 and 1900 are not closely com- 

 parable, and the product is therefore com- 

 pared, although variations may be due 

 largely to temporarily favorable or un- 

 favorable climatic conditions. 



Acres 



1909 



419 



226 



5 



66 

 67 



55 



(1) 



0-) 



1899 



161 



62 



5 



21 



38 



25 



1 



9 



Quantity 



(quarts) 



1909 



401,295 



238,164 



6,058 



60,285 



52,951 



43,408 



288 



141 



Value 

 1909 



$47,263 



26,764 



809 



8,703 



6,021 



4,926 



25 



15 



The total quantity of orchard fruits 

 produced in 1909 was 230,000 bushels, 

 valued at $209,000. Apples contributed 

 about five-sixths of this quantity, plums 

 and prunes most of the remainder. The 

 production of grapes in 1909 was 144,634 

 pounds, valued at $4,789, and that of 

 nuts 73,715 pounds, valued at $1,511. 



The production of all orchard fruits 

 together in 1909 was nearly nine times 

 as great in quantity as that in 1899, and 

 the production of grapes also increased 

 very rapidly. The total value of orchard 

 fruits increased from $29,568 in 1899 to 

 $209,339 in 1909, and that of grapes from 

 $2,158 in 1899 to $4,789 in 1909. It should 

 be noted in this connection that the 

 values for 1899 include the value of more 

 advanced products derived from orchard 

 fruits or grapes, such as cider, vinegar, 

 dried fruits and the like, and may there- 

 fore involve some duplication, while the 

 values shown for 1909 relate only to the 

 products in their original condition. 



