104 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
March, 1917 
Wisconsin Horticulture 
Published monthly by the 
Wisconsin State Horticultural Society 
12 N. Carroll St. 
Official organ of the Society. 
FREDERIC CRANEFIELD, Editor. 
Secretary W. S. H. S., Madison, Wis. 
Entered as second-class matter May 13, 
1912, at the postoffice at Madison. Wis- 
consin, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Advertising rates made known on appli- 
cation. 
Wisconsin State Horticultural Society 
Membership fee fifty cents, which in- 
cludes twenty-five cents subscription price 
of Wisconsin Horticulture. Remit fiftv 
cents to Frederic Cranefield, Editor, Madi'- 
son, Wis. 
Remit by Postal or Express Money Or- 
der. A dollar bill may be sent safely if 
wrapped or attached to a card, and pays 
for two years. Personal checks accepted. 
Postage stamps not accepted. 
OFFICERS. 
N. A. Rasmussen, President Oshkosh 
D. E. Bingham, Vice-President 
Sturgeo.n Bav 
L. G. Kellogg, Treasurer Ripon 
F. Cranefield, Secretary Madison 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
N. A. Rasmussen Ex-officio 
D. E. Bingham Ex-officio 
L. G. Kellogg Ex-officio 
F. Cranefield Ex-officio 
1st Dist., A. Martini Lake Geneva 
2nd Dist., R. J. Coe Ft. Atkinson 
3rd Dist., H. H. Morgan Madison 
4th Dist., Henry Wilke Milwaukee 
5th Dist., G. V. Holsinger. . . .Wauwatosa 
6th Dist., H. C. Christensen Oshkosh 
Dist., Wm. Toole, Sr Baraboo 
nil 1 2i s ^’ Maide Grand Rapids 
9th Dist., L. E. Birmingham Sturgeon Bay 
10th Dist., G. L. Richardson 
Chippewa Falls 
Hth Dist., J. F. Hauser Bayfield 
BOARD OF MANAGERS. 
N. A. Rasmussen F. Cranefield 
L. G. Kellogg 
Without Money and Without 
Price. 
“I am especially anxious to re- 
ceive a report of the Horticultur- 
al Society containing a list of 
fruits recommended for Wiscon- 
sin. I have been fleeced by tree 
agents too often. If you will 
write me the price of this book I 
will cheerfully remit.” 
* * * # 
This party, who was not at the 
time of writing a member, some- 
how discovered this great and un- 
failing fount of information and 
received a copy of the Planter’s 
Guide, a pamphlet but recently is- 
sued, giving lists of fruits recom- 
mended for culture in Wisconsin 
with a few kinds marked as 
adapted to his particular section 
of the state ; also a copy of Wis- 
consin Horticulture containing 
advertisements of reliable nurs- 
erymen, those who sell by catalog 
and those who sell thru agents. 
This with the added advice to go 
slow on novelties and highly ad- 
vertised new varieties is all that 
any one can do for him or for any 
one else. If with this informa- 
tion he is “fleeced by the tree 
agents” it’s his own fault. 
Of the Making' of Books There is 
No End. 
A member asks for a list of 
books “treating of horticulture 
and suitable for Wisconsin.” The 
writer has books on horticulture 
which cost over five hundred dol- 
lars in addition to as many more 
on allied subjects. Of these 
about a dozen have been studied, 
a dozen more read often and one- 
half of the remainder used occa- 
sionally for reference. The re- 
maining portion, comprising at 
least one hundred volumes, are 
never opened, worthless for any 
purpose whatever except junk. 
There are altogether too many 
poor hooks on horticulture and all 
too few good ones. 
The first great horticultural 
hook to appear in the last half 
century was Peter Henderson’s 
Gardening for Profit, for Hender- 
son was the first of 19th century 
writers on horticulture to teach 
principles. Following Henderson 
with a big gap between came 
Bailey, who fortunately is still at 
work, and he too taught princi- 
ples. Henderson’s Gardening for 
Profit and his Gardening for 
Pleasure are worth reading. 
Baileys Principles of Fruit 
Growing and Principles of Vege- 
table Gardening are classics in 
horticulture. To these add The 
Principles of Plant Culture by 
Goff and Art Out of Doors by Mrs. 
Schuyler Van Rensselear and you 
have the nucleus and the essen- 
tial part of a library on horticul- 
ture. Around these may be built 
groups of books on special sub- 
jects, The Apple, Wilkinson; Pro- 
ductive Gardening, Sears; Vege- 
table Gardening, Greene ; a man- 
ual of garden practice, and dozens 
of others, but the heart of the 
■whole should be books on prin- 
ciples, for the foundations must 
be well laid. Principles of plant 
growth and nurture are the same 
in Wisconsin as in California and 
are for all time. Cultural direc- 
tions vary from year to year, al- 
most from day to day. 
A Specific Example. 
It is now universally acknowl- 
edged that a fool and his money 
are soon parted. Not so the 
farmer and his orchard ; it is with 
him spring, summer and fall. 
Does he take care of it? He does 
not. A prosperous farmer of cen- 
tral Wisconsin writes : 
I have an orchard of 8 acres, 
and a neighbor lias one of 3y 2 
acres, all fair commercial varie- 
ties. The trees are just right age 
for good bearing but are not do- 
ing anything at all practically 
for need of proper spraying and 
care. 
We are both busy farmers and 
have no time to do the work our- 
selves even if we knew how. I 
have been thinking that perhaps 
we could lease the orchards to 
some individual or company. 
Can you put me on track of 
some such individual or company? 
S. W. 
There is a chance here for 
somebody to get into the apple 
business without investing much 
money. The owners of these or- 
