Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-06-30

genealogical subjects, 50 that l can
ruly say there are many anxious
.nquirers after knowledge In fruit
:uiture, and to acquire which, they
Dnly want the opportunity.
Somewhat unfortunately for us in
The initiatOry steps of fruit culture
upon the College Farm, the s-ason
nere has been rather dry. We have
had only two showers in this locality
within the last seven weeks, and
neither of these wet the ground more
than about one inch deep, even where
it has been well pulverizel, and Is
in good condition; and still our sue.
cess In transpianting, as | shall state
more fully at a future time, has been
successful beyond what we could
have ventured dtoanticipate. OF apple
trees, grape vines, currants, cherries,
&C., | have by great care and thor
ough work, saved about ALL 1a'.'2 sm
In this department. according to
my estimate, have not planted near
enough to meet the actual wants Of
thOse connected with the, College,
even were all the trees, vines and
plants on the premises In ;,esd hear
ing. This / could not do the present
season, for several reasons. ~
First. There was great difficulty
in finding good trees, &c., OF suitable
kinds for this locality. 5I
SECOND. We had not teams enough
with which to perform other essen.
tiai work on the farm, and prepare
my ground for planting.
Lastly, And not by any means
least, rs you are aware, was the want
of funds. For some reason, and per-
haps for want Of a formal application
to them, the Legislature have thus
far failed to make any appropriation
for planting orchards, vineyards,and
small fruit gardens. ae
The entire cost at the nurseries for
what purchased this spring, includ-
ing packing, is about two hundred
and twenty-five dollars, and III all
were i'm full bearing, they would not
furnish half enough for our yearly
supply. estimate that about one
thousand dollars, including the eur
rent expenditure before named, will
be sufficient to stock our grounds
with fruits enough to supply all per-
sons on the farm, with an abundance
the ! ear round; the small fruits, in
Guiding grapes, coming into bearing
in two years, and the orchard trees
in II We or six years from planting
Should il be thought advisable by
the constituted authorities to author
iue me to start n nursery and expert
mental grounds, think about five
hundred dollars per annum for two
years, besides what we can obtain by
exchanges and otherwise, will he
sufficient to put this project In sue
cessful operation. One great object
in this branch, will be t. enable us
to make gratutious distributions Of
stons, cuttjngs, and plants, in small
quantities, to rll citirrn- Of the State
who may desire tO test In their par.
ticular localities, new and popular
fruits which may be collected by the
P"moiogical Department here.
Confident Of success II sustained by
the autho1it,e-, cannot doubt. that
upon a proper presentation OF the
subject, our General Assembly will
meet these small, vet important
demands. A little reflection and in
vestigation will satisfy all unbiased
minds of the absolute necessity Of the
first named appropriation. for health,
comfort and economy; the expendi.
ture will yield an annual return OF
more than One hundred per cent.
upon the OUTLAY. And furthermore.
that the latter can not only be made
q source of profit to the State. hut an
incalculahle benefit by procuring and
distributing to it's citizens all the
hest fruits known, and which can be
grown In Iowa.
must be pardOned Mr.. President.
for making the fnre0Oing suggestions.
because fhev pertain tn the depart
ment assigned me. under yOur gen.
eral supervision. and hecanse ] am
sensible that without State aid
Though In com parativc'v very small
sums. we cannot make that DrO1rass
in genealogical department which
we onoht. Nor can we In anv rea-
sonahle time. furnish the Institution
with an annual supply Of our luscious
frpits.
with comparatively small
amount we can ke supo'ind with m
abundance Of those fascinating and
hnaltbh,l InYnvfes. which the late
Mr. A. j. Dnwnfnc. the great Amer
lean po,nc,ogist. declared tO no "kbe
moa Derfert .viOn of NE psefA and
the bDpnsifH HN the earth knows"
Shal, not orr tshlas ba richly and
heal1hMllv srrplied. and th.t too.
pxcl-sivelv with the productions OF
onr Co'lnpA Farm, and by the labor
OF 'ts STUDENTS?
Respectfully snhm'fted.
JAMES MATTHEWS.