Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-04-09
OAK lawn FRUIT FARM
and NURSERY.

We will not brag on the number of
years we have been engaged in the
nursery business. Our customers
never ask how long we have been in
the business, they are not interested
insthat; what interests them is the val.
ue of the stock they buy.
Because man has never engaged
in the nursery business, it cannot be
said that he knows nothing Of fruit
growing. On the other hand, 1t does
not necessarily follow that because a
man is a "nurseryman" he is an au.
thorlty on fruit culture.
A man may plant in an orchard
number of trees of each of several
varieties; he may add 10 the varieties
in that orchard from year to year; he
cultivates these trees, they bear fruit
and then, and not till then, is he
able to judge for himself as to the
relative value of the various varieties
of trees he has planted.
Upwards of thirty years ago we
planted our first fruit trees; today we
have all orchard of over 1900 trees.
We have, now bearing fruit in that
orchard, all the leading varieties of
American and Russian apples, as we'll
as plums, cherries, grapes, etc. Dur.
ing the past thirty years we have ex.
perlmented with all the many varieties
of trees that have been put upon the
market. And not only this. but dur.
ing all that time we have had the ad.
vantage OF observing the experience of
others in their efforts at fruit raising,
and have been able to profit thereby.
You all know this to be true-and
then, we have the orchard to substan.
tiate the statements.
Again. Aman may have been en-.
gagged in the ''nursery" business for
thirty years; he may have annually
planted from 10000 to 49, 900 apple
trees; he may be ever SO experienced
in grating; and yet, if he does not
fruit those trees, if he does not plant
them out in orchards and properly
cultivate and care for them, he may
know absolutely nothing of their bear.
ing qualities. We have in our or.
chard bearing trees, of all ages, of
every variety we offer tor sale in our
nursery, and we take great pleasure IN
exhibiting that orchard to our patrons
in order that they may see for them.
selves Just what they want. There
are nurserymen who have no orchards,
who have had no experience in grow.
ing fruit trees, and hence are unable
to show yon what trees z0iX do when
planted in an orchard. Instead, they
point to their record of tens of thous.
ands of gratis Sc! out each year and
tell you that is evidence of their
knowledge Of the fruit business.
Crafts planted closely in rows bear
the same relation to trees spaced out
in an orchard where they have room
to make trees, as corn planted thickly
i'll rows has to that spaced eff in hills
A man may have raised any number
of varieties of corn, vet if it had al
been planted for fodder and none fol
the corn itself, he wouldn't know any
thing ST the relative value of the diff
terent kinds.
| We have in our nursery over -, 900
trees ready for spring delivery-no
ten year olds, but thrifty, sturdy
young trees. Not like cane fshins
poles with scarce branch, but trees
we'll formed and shapely and free from
| blight or any disease. These tree!
have been kept thoroughly cultivated
and trimmed and will develop int
bearing trees long before the average
nurseryman's stock RECEIVERS from 1t!
early neglect. A stvnted colt or cal
will never develop into a first clas
animal, neither will trees left to grow
up in thick rows like weeds ever bea
fruit as they ought.
Our. gratis for trees we're planted il
the spring - there are nurseryme,
who set out their gratis in the fall
even to the extent of 10000 year
And then, because the greater par
fail to grow, condemn them as worth
) less for this climate.
I There are nurserymen who, caugh
by the Russian apple craze som
years ago, loaded up with CRAFTS, an;
now, having them in stock, they laue
them to the sky. Other nurserymel
throughout tile country. having testes
and found them wanting, have to
, great extent discarded them. o
course all nurserymen keep suppl,
of Russians for their customers VIII
may wish to try them. We can fur
llish all the best varieties of Russian
from our nursery. We can show yo
bearing trees of all these varieties ii
our orchard. But we do not recon
) mend them in preference to to til