Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1892-01-07
HORTICULTURE IN SOUTH
DAKOTA.

HORTICULTURE IN SOUTH
DAKOTA.
Paper Read by hrs 4. a. Alderman Before
the Farmers Institute Held at
HurseY. Dec. $3.50. 1891.
Ladies and Gentlemen Assembled
A IhaTea large sized suspicion that
our committee, in putting me upon tine
program as an exponnder of horticri-
tural wisdom, had other aims IN view
than appear upon the surface. 1t is
4 quite possible that i was to be used as
q an illustration to the wise men that
have come among us as missionaries,
of the need OF their wisdom being im-
parted TO us in horticulture. as In agri-
culture. i therefore deem it only justice
4 to myself and my audience 10 explain
that for several years have bsen upon
i the retired list in this work, my duties
having been in field other than horticul-
ture. and should have been well pleas
i ed 10 have been a listener today to
some one in touch with the latest hoT-
ticultnrai thought and investigation.
4 However. having been one of the pic
4 neers in fruit raising In South Dakota.
4 can perhaps CLEAN from my expert
encs something of interest, possibly of
benefit, 80 my hearers.
1 Nearly fifteen years age we were
1 possessed with the idea that fruit rails
/ ing in South Dakota offered an easy,
pleasant and sure road tc wealth, and
/ at once set about putting our idea TO
the Test. Having about as much
knowledge of the business in hand as
though we had made the acquiring of
ignorance of the subject the study OF q
life time, We started, very much as did
adam in the garden of Eden, without
experience or precedent TO guide US,
for in those early days in Dakota, e1-
cept in settlements bordering the great
i river. where conditions were wholly
different, fruit raising WAS not even in
its infancy-it had no exiSIance. How
4 ever We rapidly acquired horticultural
knowledge, mostly Of negative sort,
1 that we would gladly have disposed of
at a discount upon its cost to US. Still
among the many things that We learn
ed not TO do, which, after all, is the
q. b. c. of industries in q new country,
We were learning much that was yalu-
able in later plantings. The first plant
/ ing was an orchard. not extensive. for
tunately, but of many varieties-Raw-
| in's Russell, Rawiin's Prolific, EIgin
| Beauty, Hass, Transcendent, and Hys-
lop-protected on the nsrth and west
in true orthodox style by a willow
hedge, ali dead or dying years ago. /
haYe always been glad that We planted
this hedge. as it screens from the high
way this evidence Of our zeal without
knowledge. Probably all new coun-
| tries furnish their quota of illustra-
tions of i'll directed energy. The young
enthusiast comes to his new home
with the experience gained in the old,
or perhaps with none at ali. thinking
he can make up" in energy what he
lacks in experience. The resulting
failure Is monument TO his Ill direct
ed energy without knowledge of his
business. Ny own observation as to
evils arising from zeal without knoWl-
edge has been especially In this province
of horticulture, where, in the aggregate
the result has been appalling.
Beng filled with desire to raise
fruit, Agricola has bought of whomso-
ever asked him to purchase, such fruits
IS were offered to him. wholly in the
dark as to what varieties he could sue
coed with, or if knowing, not able to
tell II sorts were true to name as or.
dered. And when received. planted,
and given such care or lack of care as
his uncducated judgement suggested,
or his farm work allowed. When one
sees one OF these orchards protected to
death. trimmed to death, or starved to
death In an unequal contest with victo-
GUS weeds, there is a sort of negative
satisfaction IN finding that they were
"sonr grapes at best, that being bought
of no one knows whom, and brought
from no one knows where, the chances
that with intelligent care they would
really prove valuable were hardly
worth taking into account.
But to return to our orchard plant
ing. Before making another venture,
we had placed ourselved In correspon-
dence with some of the leading fruit
growers of Minnesota and northern
Iowa, and our mistakes were fewer
and less fatal to success. We had
learned that the worst possible use to
which you can puta grove. is to place
it to the north and east of your orchard.
We had also learned the value of the
Duchess, Wealthy. No. 20, Briar Sweet.
ETC.. but still planted largely of the
crab varieties, especially Hyslop and
Transcendent. But before our really
extensive planting commenced, we had
learned that when a shrewd orchardist
of Minnesota said that the sorts of
apples that were valuable for Mime
sofa planting could be counted on the
fingers Of one hand, he might we'll have
included Dakota also. The varieties
that the last l20 acres of orchard on the
fruit farm are planted to are Duchess,
Wealthy and Whitney No. 20. with
small per cent of Briar Sweet. These
have stood the test Of the drouth, the
cold. the wind and the heat; have had
at times the best Of care and cultiva-
tion, again. no care at all. but extreme
neglect. and yet almost without excep-
tion these trees are healthy and in good
growing condition, not equaled by any
orchard that I saw In a trip through
Michigan few years ago, in the per
cent Of live and thrifty trees. One pc
culiarity of this orchard Is worthy Of
note. Just north of the house, strips
were broken in the sod about 6 or 8 feet
wide, with Intervening spaces OF prairie
nna rod wide In orr orchard planting