River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-03-02
HORTICULTURE AS BUSINESS
For the Winning of Success Tt Must
Be Taken Up Seriously and
StudiouslY.

Would-be fruit growers, according to
recent writer on horticulture as
business, are in constant danger of
going wrong in the efforts by follow
ing the advice of theorists, of men
who make of horticulture pastime.
These sen break into our papers
with wonderful theories and startling
results of SO-cdlled careful expert
ments, all of which are yalueless and
misleading" In this connection the
student of horticulture who is wise is
advised to look for the credentials of
a writer on this subject, just as he
would look first, before reading, at
the authors name on the title page
OF book, and form his judgment and
Dase his credence on what he knew or
could find out about this author.
In this article of protest, says the
Prairie Farmer, the author says that
there is Perhaps no other business,
unless it is the practice of medicine,
in which there is so much room for
rank guessing" Yet it is every day
more manifest that horticulture is a
business and one that can be managed
with as great precision, certainty and
success as any other. There are now
very large number of men in the
country who make a success of it,
that is, financial success in this
business of fruit growing.
Until recently horticulture as a pro-
fession has been looked upon with
some cOntemept by farmers whose la
bOrs are of more back-breaking and
mountaineering sort. Though thou
sands of farmers have raised a little
fruit as side issue, yet their care of
fruit tree and plant has usually been
mostly of a haphazard sort. They
have seemed to consider fruit as an ac-
cldental product of natures bounty,
not as something produced and per-
tected by mans care and attention
But horticulture is coming to be one
of the greatest industries in some of
our states, and as such has attracted
and is attracting many who aspire to
success as fruit growers. Some of
these have already tried and failed,
partly because they have not followed
cases they have not patiently awaited
results after doing what wise guides
directed. The writer mentioned thinks
that there is great field open to the
hOrticulturist, and anyone who reads
the statistics showing the increased
yearly consumption of fruit in our
country must see that this is so. But,
he AYERS, this business is one that, like
any other, must be mastered IN all it's
intricacies if success is to be won. eff
a man masters his business he must
study the laws Of nature as governing
soil conditions, effect of atmospheric
changes, plant life, insect life, proc
esses of growth aud ripening, fertiliza-
ton both of bloom and soil, and when
he has covered all these fields of
knowledge he is just where the mer-
chant is when he starts in-he has
still all the problems of market which
the merchant has. He must know
what to produce and where and how
to dispose of his production"
The fact seems to be that it success
is to be won in horticulture a man
must take it up seriously. He must
not be led away by any sentiment he
has for nature, and he must not be
satisfied with anything less than prac-
tical results. The destinations of fruit
growing are real, but they are likely
to receive most attention from those
who pay least attention to the sober
facts of the business, and these are
but blind and extravagant guides to
follow