February 18, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
119 
1/ 
HOKTICULTUEAL PROSPECTS. 
— + — 
£/( 
J UDGING by the programmes already announced or which are 
before the public, it appears that the present year will be one of 
exceptional interest in the horticultural world, and the preparations 
for the following year are also of an elaborate character. There 
seems to have been a sudden awakening to the fact that horticulture 
has been publicly neglected, and in several distinct ways efforts 
are being made to compensate for this neglect. So marked is this that 
perhaps fears may be awakened lest too much be attempted, and the 
expectations of the various promoters should not be fully realised. 
It is, however, a material cause of satisfaction that the projects are 
being undertaken with considerable spirit, and this alone goes a 
long way towards supplying a reliable guarantee that a large share 
of success may be anticipated. It must, however, be urged upon all 
interested that any delay now in forwarding the schemes will have 
a tendency to nullify previous efforts, and the sooner the com¬ 
plete programmes are issued the better. 
First to be noted is the proposed International Fruit Show to be 
held in London in the autumn of the present year, and concerning 
which much interest has already been excited. It may be 
remembered that this was started at a meeting held in the Cannon 
Street Hotel last October under the presidency of Sir James 
Whitehead, Bart., and a Provisional Committee was then appointed 
to prepare a scheme for carrying out the idea. This Committee 
have held several meetings, and have made sufficient advance in their 
deliberations to select a site for the Exhibition. To-day (Thursday) 
a deputation will present a petition to the Court of Common 
Council at the Guildhall for the use of a portion of the unoccupied 
land on the Thames Embankment near the Temple Gardens, and it 
is confidently anticipated that no difficulty will be experienced in 
obtaining the requisite permission. Beyond this substantial 
pecuniary assistance has been promised, either in the shape of 
subscriptions or guarantees, and everything bears a very hopeful 
aspect with regard to what will undoubtedly prove a highly 
important gathering. 
Another event has been announced for the present year— 
namely, an International Horticultural Exhibition at Earl’s Court, 
full particulars of which are advertised in the present issue of this 
Journal. A preliminary meeting was held in the Hotel Windsor, 
Victoria Street, last week at the invitation of Mr. H. E. Milner, 
who explained to those present what was intended by the promoters 
—Baron Reuter, Colonel North, and the officials of the District 
Railway Company. The Exhibition is to take the form of a 
permanent display of horticultural appliances of a most varied 
character, with special shows of plants at intervals during the 
season. After some discussion it was resolved, on the motion of 
Mr. William Paul, seconded by Mr. A. McKellar of Sandringham, 
“ That this meeting of representatives of leading nurserymen and 
gardeners of the United Kingdom desires to express their appre¬ 
ciation of the objects of the International Horticultural Exhibition, 
and promises to do what they can to secure its success, and also to 
extend a cordial greeting to their Continental friends.” A Com¬ 
mittee is being formed, but drafts of the regulations and the 
schedule have already been issued, from which it appears that the 
Exhibition is to be opened on May 7th, and Shows are to be held 
on that date ; May 27th and 28th ; June 6th, 7th, and 8th ; July 
5th and 6th ; August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ; September 7th, 8th, 
No. 608.— VoL. XXIV., Third Series. 
and 9th ; and two Shows in October. At these meetings medals, 
certificates, and money prizes are to be offered, and the two former 
will also be awarded in the various groups of permanent exhibits. 
Elsewhere in the present issue a notice will be found of the 
International Exhibition of Chrysanthemums, to be held in the 
United States towards the end of this year, and as it is proposed to 
devote over £2000 to this as a prelude to the horticultural attrac¬ 
tions of the World’s Fair in Chicago next year, it may be expected 
to assume proportions of some magnitude. 
Besides, the gigantic Chicago Gathering for 1893 there will 
also be the Quinquennial Exhibition in Ghent, so that horticul¬ 
turists are likely to have plenty to occupy their time and attention 
for the next two years at least. 
MARKET GARDENING IN THE FAR WEST. 
I AM often applied to by inquirers in England to know what 
they could do if they came to Colorado. A man with his health, 
sufficient capital, and, above all, with his head “screwed on right, 
as the saying is, will find many more openings in this young rising 
State than he can in an old settled and crowded country like 
England. For instance, let me give a few well authenticated facts 
and figures as to what is being done in market gardening and small 
farming near Denver. 
The first house (a log cabin) was built in Denver in 1859, then 
750 miles west of the nearest railroad. To-day Denver is a magni¬ 
ficently built city of over 150,000 inhabitants, with nearly 150 miles 
of cable and electric tramway lines, and the geographical, railroad, 
commercial and financial centre of a country of wonderful natural 
resources, fast filling up with population, as large as the German 
Empire. Another twenty years and there is little doubt Denver 
will have a population of nearly 500,000, as it is fast following in 
the footsteps of Chicago. 
There is a very large local consumption of vegetables, fruits, &c., 
both fresh and canned, some of which come from distant points, 
which ought and might as well be grown here. Now, I do not 
propose to quote prices which are obtained from the consumer 
when vegetables or fruit are early in season or scarce, but will give 
the prices actually paid by wholesalers to the local gardeners during 
1891 Let us take Tomatoes for a start, which here are a field 
crop, yielding heavily and being in great local demand. In Denver 
there are three canning factories, and the figures given are from 
their books. It is usual with these firms to contract with the 
gardeners at the beginning of the season for all the surplus 
Tomatoes, at a certain price per 100 lbs.—that is, the gardener 
takes his Tomatoes to the public market or to retail stores or 
retails them, getting the best price he can ; but if he does not get a 
sufficiently good price, or the market that day is overstocked, or he 
is limited for time, he can any day in the season take his waggon¬ 
load right down to the canning factory, the proprietors of which will 
take all he has at the price agreed on at the beginning of the 
season, and pay him for them right there. This is a great 
convenience. The contract price for 1891 was 60 cent., or 2s. 6d., 
per 100 lbs. On this basis the three Denver canning factories 
bought from Colorado gardeners and canned during the season of 
1891 a little over 1000 tons of Tomatoes, and would have canned 
twice that quantity, but could not get them in consequence of the 
large local consumption of fresh Tomatoes at higher prices. An 
average crop is 10 tons (2000 lbs. to the ton) to the acre, which at 
the above wholesale price would be £25 per acre ; but, as a matter 
of fact, the great bulk of the crop is sold at much higher prices to 
retailers and others. I have not ascertained what the average 
expense per acre amounts to, as most of the growers do their own 
work largely. 
The same firms during 1891 canned 18 tons of string Beans, 
mostly Dwarf Kidney Beans, paying for them £8 per ton ; 60 tons 
of Pumpkins at 2Ss. per ton ; and 20 tons of Navy or Haricot 
No. 2264.— VoL. LXXXVI., Old Series. 
