HORTICULTURE AT CORNELL. 



The visitor to Cornell finds a great and growing 

 general university, in which horticulture has a name 

 and a place. The grounds of the horticultural de- 

 partment occupy about thirty acres of the Univer- 

 sity farm. The most of this area has a slightly 

 western or southern exposure, but, taken as a whole, 

 it is very uneven and lies in nearly all directions. 

 The character of the soil also varies widely. Some 

 portions are heavy tenacious clay, while others are 

 sandy or gravelly. 



A considerable portion near the forcing-houses, 

 and adjoining the residence of the professor of hor- 

 ticulture, is set aside as a sort of show ground in 

 the matter of experimental work, where things of 

 special interest can be grown. Here we find a row 

 of the different species of our native wild grapes, 

 about twenty in number. Only three of these sorts 

 have been improved, while nearly all our present 

 varieties come from the Vifis Lahrusca. The possi- 

 bilities of the others are unknown, and it is the in- 

 tention to make som^ advancement in this direction, 

 as well as making something of a specialty of cross- 

 ing and growing seedling fruits in general. The 

 most important line of experimental work is believed 

 to lie in the introduction and production of new- 

 varieties. Foreign and curious vegetables in great 

 variety are grown upon this interesting plot of 

 ground. 



Near at hand is the small fruit plot, which is well 

 under way. It should be remembered that this 

 department has been established but one year and 

 cannot make the showing which it will when a few 

 years older. On the east and west sides of the plot 

 is a double row of apple trees, w bile at the north is 

 the cheri'y orchard. Still back of these, along part 

 of the north and west sides, is a heavy row of 

 native plums of the Wild Goose type. When these 

 trees are grown, they will make a somewhat shel- 

 tered spot for the small fruits. Such protection is 

 much needed, for the station is located on high 

 ground, fully exposed to severe sweeping winds. 

 Just beyond the cherry orchard, on a steep bank 

 facing north, is the vineyard of some fifty varieties, 

 with mulberries interspersed in true Old World 

 style. Below this, on a comparatively level piece 

 of land, which is the most sheltered spot on the 

 grounds, are the strawberries. 



To the south-east of the forcing houses, on clay 



loam, with general western exposure, is the orchard 

 of plums, standard pears and apricots. This orchard 

 will be a matter of much interest as time goes on, 

 for it is to be run on a commercial fertilizer basis ex- 

 clusively. No stable manure has ever been put on 

 the land, and it is the intention that none shall ever 

 be used there. A dwarf pear orchard is to be planted 

 near by the coming spring, and this will be treated 

 in the same way. It is evident that there must be 

 a constantly increasing interest in the question of 

 profitable fruit growing without stable manures. 



At this season, the forcing-houses are of more 

 interest than anything else. These are somewhat 

 novel in construction, and consist of two runs of 

 houses, each 20x60 feet, one end of the runs being 

 covered by a potting house and the other by a 

 transverse glass-house. One of the glass struct- 

 ures was built the past fall, the other something 

 over a year ago. A ground plan is shown in the 

 engraving. The potting house, built across the 

 west end in front of the glass-house, has on the 

 ground floor a workroom, A ; with potting tables for 

 students, and seed case, an office, O ; clothes-room, 

 K ,■ a well arranged photographic room, P, having 

 overhead and side light, and a dark closet / for 

 manipulating the plates. Hundreds of photographs 

 of fruits and vegetables are taken during the sea- 

 son, and this makes a very useful addition to the 

 equipments. Overhead is an attic with a work- 

 bench and storage room for many of the requisites 

 of greenhouse work. 



The boiler-room under this building contains a 

 low-pressure steam boiler, so arranged that it can 

 be used for hot-water heating at any time without 

 change, by simply securing the safety valve to pre- 

 vent leaking there, and filling the boiler and pipes 

 with water, leaving the supply cock open to allow 

 the water to expand back into the water works. 

 This modern method of hot-water heating is prov- 

 ing far more effective and satisfactory than the old 

 plan of using large cast-iron pipes entirely under 

 the benches. There is some overhead heat and the 

 pipes, being thinner, transmit the heat better. If 

 water is not supplied from a water-works system, or 

 if the pressure is too great to admit of expansion in 

 that direction by leaving the supply cock open, it is 

 necessary to provide an expansion tank. This may 

 be a very simple and cheap affair, however. 



