THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
97 
acreage is increasing very fast and while the prices have 
rilled low this year, yet the crop has found a market at 
fairly remunerative prices ; and so it is with all lines of 
fruit ; they pay better than any other branch of agri¬ 
culture. 
“The great diversity in climate and soil on this 
coast, makes it possible for us to raise all kinds of fruit, 
from the tropics to the temperate zones. While 
all cannot be grown in one locality, there are localities 
within the limits of California where the different fruits 
of the world may be successfully grown and there is still 
room for profitable investment on this coast.” 
MR. HALE AND THE GEORGIA ORCHARDS. 
Editor of The National Nurseryman : 
In the August number of the National Nurseryman, 
I notice that our good Brother Hale in his article on 
Fort YTlley, Ga., and the peach orchards, either through 
faulty memory or by some typographical error, has 
made some rather important mistakes. By his article 
the reader would be led to believe that Brother Hale 
was the pioneer northern horticulturist at Fort Val¬ 
ley Now the facts are that the Ohio fruit men (like 
the Ohio man, always to the front) were at Fort Valley 
and invested and planted largely before Brother Hale 
bought an acre or set a tree there. Mr. Hale was prob¬ 
ably attracted there by what the Ohio men had done 
and not the exact opposite, as his article seems to 
indicate. 
The Albaugh Georgia Fruit Company was incorpor¬ 
ated in 1890, and it set 75,000 peach trees that year. 
The Troy Company was formed the same time and 
planted 15,000 peaches. The Ohio Fruit Land Com¬ 
pany was formed in January, 1891, and has planted 
I I 1,000 peaches, 10,000 Kiefer pears and several thous¬ 
and plums. Since that time there have been incorpo¬ 
rated ; The Arrick Gray Company, with 30,000 peaches 
and 5,000 grapes ; The Fort Valley Land and Orchard 
Company, 20,000 peaches ; the Oak Ridge Company, 
with 30,000 peaches ; the Tivoli Fruit Company, 
planting this fall 80,000 peaches and i o, 000 grapes, and 
the Standard Fruit Company planting 30,000 peaches ; 
so that these Ohio men who are all joined together in 
the different companies, own now in Houston county 
7,300 acres of the choicest land, upon which are already 
planted 300,000 peaches (60,000 of which had a crop 
the present season) and 11,000 Kiefer pears, 5,000 
grape vines and 1,000 Burbank plums, and the land is 
being prepared for i 10,000 more peaches, making, when 
these are planted, a little over 400,000 peaches, beside 
the plums, pears and grapes. They also have a nursery 
of 250,000 young peach trees and 2,000,000 Mariana 
cuttings. The peach orchards owned by these gentlemen 
are not only the largest in the world but already three 
times, and in three months more will be four times as 
large as Mr. Hale’s orchards. 
The writer has great respect for Mr. Hale, both as 
regards his horticulture knowledge and general intelli¬ 
gence, and is much pleased with his fine orchards at Fort 
Valley, and feels sure that he will gladly accept the facts 
here given, because he knows they are exact and true. 
The Albaugh Georgia and Ohio Fruit Land Company, 
through F. G. Withoft & Sons, made a very fine display 
of fruits at the World’s Fair during July, from Georgia 
and the orchards there, it being the only horticultural 
display made from the “Empire” state of the South 
at the Fair. 
The leading Ohio men in these Georgia companies 
are : Hon. N. H. Albaugh of Tadmor, O. ; F. G. 
Withoft of Dayton, O. ; Hon. W. T. Cope of Columbus, 
O., present state treasurer; Hon. David Fanning, ex¬ 
chief clerk of Ohio House of Representatives, Columbus, 
O. ; Z. K. Jewett of Sparta, Wis., vice-president 
American Association of Nurserymen ; H. Ohmer, ex¬ 
president of the Ohio State Horticultural Society ; B. 
Trimpe, Sidney, O. ; N. D. Bates, M. Beecher, W. 
Kramer, S. D. Trone, William Hoskett, A D. Wilt, 
John Barlow and other prominent capitalists of Dayton, 
O., and a half dozen more from Columbus, O., and 
Cleveland, with Messrs. Arrick and Bridenstein of 
Bridgeport, O. These orchards above described, with 
that of Mr. Hale’s, all near Fort Valley, Ga., are by far 
the largest peach orchards in the world; all in perfect 
health, finely cultivated, and worth traveling a thousand 
miles to see, by anyone interested in horticulture. 
Dayton, O. F. G. Withoft. 
PROSPER JULIUS BERCKMANS. 
The frontispiece of this issue of the National Nur¬ 
seryman presents an excellent likeness of Prosper Julius 
Berckmans, well known in every branch of horticulture. 
He is the honored president of the American Bornolog¬ 
ical Society, the annual meeting of which was held last 
month in Chicago. He is the proprietor of the Fruit- 
land Nurseries near Atlanta, Ga. These nurseries cover 
an area of 400 acres, 300 of which are under cultivation 
for nursery stock. There are 40 acres in bearing or¬ 
chards and vineyards. There is also an acre under glass. 
Mr. Berckmans has 250,000 rose plants in one field and 
his stock comprises 1200 varieties. 
Mr. Berckmans is a native of Belgium. He went to 
Georgia in 1850. He is an educated botanist and he 
has made the study of flowers and fruits his dominant 
pursuit for over forty years. He writes often for horti¬ 
cultural journals. Associated with him are his sons, L. 
A. Berckmans, R. C. Berckmans and P. J. A. Berck¬ 
mans, all of whom have a life long familiarity with the 
business. 
