Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1905-01-25
Presidents Address by E. Brakeman

Members of Winnesheik County
Horticultural Society:
We are once more gathered together
for the purpose of comparing notes,
and OF giving our experiences for the
past year. Some have met with sue
cess and some with failure, but on the
whole the crops have been above the
average. There is tendency to raise
more fruit and of better quality.
| There never was time when there
was the effort made to produce vari-
cites of fruit that is adapted to this
climate that there is today. Take for
instance the number of Seeding apples
that are being produced. At the West
Union meeting of the N. E. Horticul-
tural Society there was on exhibition
over 300 plates of apples of which 100
plates were seedlings. They were all
fine apples and none of them had been
in cold storage. These apples have
all been produced from seed planted in
Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and
so far have proved to be perfectly
hardy. The flavor of these apples is
as good if not better than most of the
apples grown in the eastern states.
There was one Seeding apple shown
there by nurseryman from Winona,
Mimi, called the Yankee, which was
fine in flavor, nice color and large in
size, for which he expects to receive
the one thousand dollar prize offered
by the Minnesota State Horticultural
Society, and by the way, the Mime
sofa Society is the largest in the
United States, having a membership
of nearly two thousand This shows
the interest that is being taken in hor-
ticulture in the northwest, where but
few years ago the country was wild,
and inhabited by Indians. There are
but few who know or realize the
amount of fruit that is raised and con-
sumed in this country. There are l.
000, GOO boxes of oranges valued at 81,
600, 600 annually raised in Florida
alone, and it will require 33, 600 re-
frigerator cars to move the California
crop this year. This country is rails
ing and marketing annually $500, 600,
900 worth of apples, 800, 600, 600 worth
of Strawberries and So, 600, COO worth
of peaches, and these are only few
of the items of the grand total of the
fruit raised in this country at the pre-
sent time. This great advancement has
pioSC W ltllln tllt 1dSt IlltN
years before that it was nearly all
imported. Ninety years ago it was
impossible to find more than half a
barrel of raisins in New York. Now
California alone raises 1O3, 600, 600
pounds. of grapes which are dried into
raisins and California is not alone in
this production. Montana, the home
of the blizzard, is coming to the front
in the raising of apples with some
orchards containing 60, 600 and some
100, goo trees South Dakota also has
some large orchards. From one or
chard was picked last year 10, 900 bar
rels of apples and these from young
trees. Mr.. Patten of Charles City
visited this orchard last year and he
said he never saw finer orchard.
The trees were mostly furnished by
him from his nursery. might add to
this Kansas with 400 orchards of from
40 to 1000 acres each.
From these few facts you will see
the wonderful interest that is being
taken in this country in the raising of
fruit; now why not wake up here in
Winnesheik county, by converting
these hills and waste places into or
chards. There were number present
at our meeting last year in DEBORAH
who made the remark to me, you
have got the ideal country here for
apples, here is the future apple country
etc. " We have the soil, we have the
location and we have the nursery
man from whom we can procure our
trees right here at home of our own
neighbors who have got them in bear
ing and for sale and are perfectly re-
liable. You will say what is the use
OF raising more apples, we can't sell
them. The reason for this is you do
not raise enough. 1 will say the RENE
dy is this-put out more trees and as
soon as there are enough raised there
will be men who will come and take
every apple right from the orchard the
same as they do in the east. Why did
Wisconsin become tobacco state; it
was because they all joined together to
raise tobacco and raised it in large
quantities. Agents came in and pur-
chased the whole crop and shipped it
out by the car load.
have great faith in this country as
an apple country. 1t is past the ex-
perimental stage and those of you who
will set out trees and take care of them
will be paid for your labor. Land is
advancing in price and the only way
to get returns that will pay interest,
taxes, living, etc., will be to diversity
and raise crop that will produce
more to the acre. Let each one of us
plant few seeds from the best vari-
cites. By so doing we may be able to
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