THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
145 
THREE SCORE YEARS. 
Progress of Horticulture In America From 
1836 TO 1896 — Samuel Miller’s Resume 
—A Very Marked Advance. 
In the August issue of the National Nurseryman was 
presented a retrospect of horticulture in England during the 
sixty years of the Victorian era. Remarkable and interesting 
changes were noted. Of equal interest is the resume of the 
advances in horticulture in America during the same period, 
as noted by Samuel Miller, of Bluffton, Mo., in Colma7is Rural 
World. Judge Miller says : 
Within the last century there have been more inventions 
and greater advances made in the arts and sciences than in 
any former period of the same length of time in the history of 
this globe. Horticulture has kept pace with these, and is 
to-day more advanced than ever before. Sixty years ago the 
word horticmlture was hardly mentioned. Now it stands next 
to grain-raising in importance—not only in the pleasure and 
comfort that it gives to the human family, but also in a com¬ 
mercial point of view. 
To go back three-score years seems a long look to the rear ; 
yet that is what some of us can do, and remember well the 
condition of our fruits, and compare them with those of the 
present day. Then about all the strawberries we saw were 
found in meadows and fence corners, small but high-flavored. 
Now we have more than 100 varieties—large, luscious ones in 
abundance. 
One might be safe in stating that there is now a car-load of 
strawberries grown to every quart grown then. I remember 
when they were first taken to market in buckets and baskets, 
and were measured out in tin quart measures. Now they are 
put up in neat quart boxes, shipped in crates of twenty-four 
and thirty-two quarts each, all over the country. Not long 
since a friend in Southwestern Missouri wrote to me that he 
sent a crate of Captain Jack strawberries one time to Albu¬ 
querque, New Mexico, that had to go sixty miles by stage to 
reach its destination, yet they arrived in eating condition, and, 
by the way, I may tell that same variety originated here not 
twenty yards from where I write this. It is still a favorite with 
some growers. Another valuable one was raised by a brother 
of mine, the Cumberland, which has but few superiors if proji- 
erly grown. 
Quite recently another brother has raised a black-cap rasp¬ 
berry that surpasses anything of the kind yet produced in this 
country. He has recently sold the stock for $1,000. I have 
been a little personal in this, to show that the spirit of horti¬ 
culture was born in the family, hence no wonder that it is still 
my hobby. 
Then the black-cap raspberries were chiefly gathered in old 
clearings, strung on a stem of timothy, and carried home in 
that way. Now the improved varieties are planted by the 100 
acres. The only red ones then were what we called Purple 
Cane and the Red Antwerp. Now the varieties can be named 
by scores. 
Blackberries were all wild, and the planting of them in gar¬ 
dens was not thought of. Now hundreds of plantations, large 
and small, can be seen all over the country. Currants were 
then the white and red Dutch (and they are still grown). 
Now we can count the varieties by the dozens. 
Cherries—The Mayduke, Oxheart and Bleeding Heart were 
the improved varieties. The English Morello was a wayside 
tree. The Black Morello was common, but nearly abandoned 
on account of the black knot. Of the Mazzard, a black and 
red,- there were trees sixty feet high, and three feet in diameter 
at the base, and trees that would bear a two-horse wagon-load 
in a season. These were small, however, and by no means 
choice. Now we have a hundred varieties of select fruit of 
these. 
Peaches.—Early York was then the earliest we had of budded 
trees, but plenty of good seedlings. The Early York ripened 
in August, and was the earliest. Now we have a host of varie¬ 
ties, ripening from June until November. 
Grapes.—The Alexander was the pioneer ; then Isabella and 
Catawba, soon followed by the famous Concord, from which 
has descended a host of valuable varieties, both white and 
black. The Martha was the first seedling from it that became 
famous. It was sold to Mr. Knox, of Pittsburg, Pa., for $500. 
He made a nice thing out of it, not less than $ro,ooo. Since 
then other white ones from it and from the Concord have 
crowded it out in a measure. Apricots we had growing on the 
terraces, but they seldom bore fruit. Of prunes and plums we 
had a few, but the main crop of plums was from the native 
wild trees. Now, orchards of ten acres of Wild Goose alone 
are planted. 
Pears.—We then had mostly seedling, and of very ordinary 
quality. Now we have double the number of varieties, which 
can be in eating nearly the whole year. Apples were then 
grown mostly for home use, and there were but few varieties 
compared with the legion we now have. 
But to refute the idea that fruits run out, I will state that 
the Rambo, Red Romanite, Prince’s Harvest, Winesap, New¬ 
ton Pippin and Yellow Bellflower that have been grown for 
100 years still hold their place in every good collection. But 
what a multitude of new and valuable ones have been produced 
since then, and still they come. 
Then each farmer raised principally for his own use and to 
sell in the towns near him. Now tens of thousands of acres 
are planted, and it gives railroads considerable work hauling 
them to their destinations, and mighty steamers to transport 
the fruit to foreign countries (3,000,000 barrels in 1895). 
Then California was a Mexican state, and its future great¬ 
ness as a fruit country was not dreamed of. Now she sends 
train-loads of it across the Rocky Mountains to the East, and 
her grapes and wine to foreign lands. It is to-day the greatest 
fruit country on the globe. 
Next comes Missouri, my adopted state, of which I am 
proud, and why not, when she was admitted into the Union 
the same year that I was first allowed to breathe the air of this 
great Republic ? May the good work of horticultural progress 
go on, and the time come when every man, woman and child 
will have all the choice fruit they need—a condition that at 
this time does not exist, for not one man in ten who owns land 
enjoys what he might if he possessed the true spirit and love 
of horticulture. 
And here I will state that I do not see why agriculture and 
horticulture should not be taught in our common schools. In 
one hour I can show 100 boys how to bud or graft, so that 
they can change any worthless fruit tree into a good variety. 
