Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-09-29
Oak Lawn Fruit Farm and Nursery.

Oxe day last week the editor took
half day looking over the fruit farm
and nursery of Bents & Upton, mile
east OF Cresco. Mr.. Bents commenced
cultivating and growing fruit on his
farm more than 20 years ago, and we
think was one of the very first in the
county to have fruit exhibit at the
county fair. His faith in fruit Gull
ture was so strong that an orchard
was planted out as many as twenty
years since which is in good condition
and bearing profusely year by year.
Beside an orchard he planted out and
cultivated a great variety of small
fruits and plums meeting with sue
cess in every department. About the
same time he started small nursery
on the home farm obtaining from
practical experience, observation and
study a thorough knowledge of tree
propagation and culture. A few
years since Mr.. Bents and j. H. Up
ton on the southwest part of the Judge
Upton farm conceived the project of
opening a nursery and fruit farm
there which they have carried out in
all its details. Beside this their faith
IN the possibilities of the county for
growing fruit in abundance is such
that they now have over 100 trees
planted in an orchard on the farm,
with about 500 trees in bearing
orchards on the Bents farm and on
the Judge Upton farm outside the
portion devoted to their joint owner
ship. They are now preparing the
ground for room 10 plant out an ad-
ditional orchard of several hundred
more trees of various kinds. In their
nursery may be found several humid
red evergreen trees ready for trans
planting, among which we observed
several hundred of the Colorado blue
spruce. OF evergreens they have over
thirty thousand trees which have been
twice and some of them three times
transplanted thus insuring large
growth OF root, also at least 100, 900
seedlings which will be transplanted
and prepared for future marketing.
They have about five thousand
grape vines two years old with fine
strong roots embracing red, black and
white varieties all perfectly hardy
and in prime condition for transplant
ing. They have probably the only
large nursery west of the Mississippi
where all the stock offered for sale
has been tried and fully tested by the
owners, in orchard, VINEYARD and gar
den.
They have a number of acres de-
uoted to strawberries for marketing
beside which they have over 800
varieties including all the best from
WHICH they furnish plants to customers.
In their nursery may be found over
10000 trees, two years growth, which
stand from 4 to feet in heigth and
without scar or blemish. These
trees are now just the right age and
size for transplanting in an orchard.
AS trees grow in heigth the roots ex-
pand the small fbrous roots extending
away to correspond. In removing the
tree no matter what its heigth these
roots are severed at about the same
distance hence the young tree will
grow and flourish and come to bearing
after being transplanted sooner than
one several years older, showing a
vigorous, healthy tree instead Of a
sickly decaying one. OF raspberry
tips they will have over 100000 ready
for the spring trade, also an endless
quantity of blackberry and the various
kinds of red raspberry. They also
have a large quantity of Asparagus
ready for trausplanting.
On the farm they grow nearly all
kinds of seeds for the farm and the
garden, growing nearly forty varieties
of potatoes and almost as many of
corn. They grow all the varieties of
melons known in great abundance,
having several acres devoted exclus-
lively to their growth, thousands OF
which they market annually. In view
OF the facts here presented, it is not
too much to say there is not tree.
plant Or shrub for any farm, garden,
lawn or house, which may not be OBJ
tanned in this county Of dealers who
can be found if the recommendation
given their stock proves untrue. There
has been, and is. too. much of dispo-
sition to buy something with d new
name, which has never been tested
any where in our latitude and climate,
instead of what is grown and tested
here by by practical men, and the
purchasers are the very ones who will
tell you this is not fruit country.