THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
189 
To nurserymen I am prepared to offer exceptional, 
bargains in the collecting and shipping of all native plants 
including rhododendrons, madronas, huckleberries, ferns, 
evergreens, blackberries, salmonberries, Oregon grapes, 
alders, maples, and many other trees, plants, and flowers 
native to the forests of the Puget Sound country. 
Nellita, Washington. Joel Shomaker. 
RETURNS FROM A NEBRASKA FRUIT FARM 
Some days ago, C. G. Marshall, Secretary of our State 
Horticultural Society, sent out a circular letter to the 
orchardists of the state, containing a series of questions 
regarding methods, experience and results. Perhaps the 
following paragraph which is in answer to one of these 
questions, may be of general interest to the public. 
“This evening, I find myself able to state that sales of 
our fruit crop are between $11,000 and $12,000, fruit not 
yet all sold. 
Expense account $6,038.25. I may say that this ex¬ 
pense account covers the expense of the whole farm of 
240 acres, as all labor thereon is paid by checks, makes no 
account of the other 160 acres, devoted to timber, pasture, 
alfalfa and nursery stock, but the entire expense of handling 
the 240 acre property as a whole is charged in the expense 
account paid by checks of $6,038.25. 
The showing for the orchard, therefore, should be better 
than the figures above, in case the expense account of the 
orchard could be kept by itself. The approximate margin 
on the season’s orchard crop from December i, 1908, to 
December 6, 1909, is $5500.00. It should be noted that 
this included the expense of hauling in a large amount of 
manure and straw last winter, the beneficial effects of 
which will be coming back from 6 to 8 years. 
You will note that $5500 pays 27 per cent interest on a 
valuation of $20,000 or $250 per acre for 80 acres of orchard. 
It should also be noted that two of the raspberry and 
blackberry plantations of perhaps four acres have just been 
planted and are not yet in bearing, and the entire orchard 
also not yet in full bearing the past season. I judge that 
the crop of apples, grapes and blackberries above men¬ 
tioned, were raised on perhaps 60 to 65 acres. 
This crop has been developed not as an accidental yield, 
but by the use of power spraying machinery for 20 years, 
free use of stable manure and straw mulching of the rows, 
persistent cultivation, regular pruning. The orchard is 
apparently in condition to give many profitable crops. 
The tract, as a whole, is best suited to use as a fruit and 
dairy farm. Some day there will be some timber to cut. 
There is quite a lot of alfalfa on a fair portion of the tract, 
giving us more than we can use for farm and nursery teams 
and serving as a desirable rotation in the growing of 
nursery stock. 
Crete, Neb. E. F. Stephens. 
FRUIT FORECASTS 
Havoc was wrought in Georgia by the freeze of March 14 
and 15. Estimates of the damage to the peach crop 
of the state by cold during the past winter run as high as 
ninety per cent, and it is said that not 500 cars of this fruit 
will be shipped from Georgia the coming season. 
From different parts of New York State come encourag¬ 
ing reports. Peach and apple orchardists say that their 
trees are in good condition after a favorable winter, the 
extremes of weather not having been very great in either 
direction. 
The California English walnut crop is estimated at 9000 
tons, slightly smaller than last year. While the fruit crop 
as a whole will be about two weeks late in California, it will 
be larger than for years. 
But a small crop of peaches is promised about Tyler, 
Texas. Nurseries in the vicinity of Houston lost a large 
per cent of their Satsuma orange stock from cold the past 
winter. 
It has been reported that the condition of peach trees 
in some sections of Virginia is better in every particular 
than last year. 
From present indications heavy thinning will be neces¬ 
sary in connection with the Colorado fruit crop. 
Reports from a large number of states indicate the 
probability of a short peach crop. 
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT OF VEGETABLE 
GARDENING IN THE COLLEGE CURRICULUM 
Prof. L. C. Corbett 
The first point Mr. Corbett made was that students 
studying vegetable gardening should first equip them¬ 
selves with a sound knowledge of botany; systematic 
botany especially was very important. Particularly was 
it important for all investigators or teachers to found 
themselves thoroughly in this science before taking up 
field or class work. Professor Corbett drew attention to 
the somewhat anomalous condition of the departments 
of vegetable gardening and pomology in the colleges of 
agriculture of the country. He pointed out that there 
were practically two courses offered in pomology for each 
course offered in vegetable or market gardening. He 
explained this on the ground that fruit growing is a life 
long enterprise, that is to say, when the orchard is estab¬ 
lished it goes on more or less perennially. Again, orchard¬ 
ing is fostered and promoted by nurserymen. It is to 
their interest to push it. Professor Corbett pointed out 
that the fruit business of the United States, including not 
only deciduous fruits, but the citrus and subtropical fruits, 
represents only about half the wealth annually produced 
by the vegetable industry of this country. The miscel¬ 
laneous vegetable crops produce wealth equal to that se¬ 
cured from the fruit interests of the country, and when the 
potato crop is added to this, an income twice as great as 
that of the fruit business is secured. When we consider 
this, the anomalous position of vegetable culture pedagogi- 
cally considered becomes all the more apparent. 
The writer pointed out that at the present time “there 
is a widespread and very aggressive movement toward the 
organization of the vegetable gardening interests of the 
country. The demand for fresh vegetables at all seasons 
of the year has greatly stimulated interest in this field of 
