Fruit and Corn Display
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.UK third annual exposition of the National
Horticultural congress, which closed Satur
day evening after ten days of uninterrupted
success, was pronounced by the thousands of
visitors who thronged the buildings to be
one ot tho mutt varied, beautiful and Instructive ex
hibits of the nation's horticultural wealth ever staged
in any part of the country. It was truly a national
exposition, showing the choicest products of the or
chards of more than three-fourths of the states, and
cannot fall to give additional impetus to the business
of growing and developing fruits of all kinds. It is
nonetheless gratifying because it realized every hope
of tho Council Bluffs men who planned and effected
the organisation of the congress and have- success
fully conducted all of the annual shows, making each
succeeding one In every way superior to the one that
preceded it.
The first exposition followed immediately tho or
ganization of the congress, and leading horticulturists
in twenty or more states Joined in the movement. Tho
second year the number was largely increased and
this year more than 100 of tho best known horticul
tural scientists and practical experts connected with
horticultural colleges and experiment stations, includ
ing many state entomologists, co-operated in the work
of the congress. The exhibits this year demanded
more than twice as much as was required in either
of the other years, and after this was provided it was
found to bo necessary to limit all carlot displays to
250 boxes, letting that number represent the full ship
ment of 640 boxes constituting a car.
In the Auditorium and temporary annexes a scene
of beauty met the eyes of visitors that pictures or
words can but feebly portray, and the photographs
herewith present but a faint hint of the brilliancy of
the spectacle where every tone of nature's unmatcha
ble color scheme blended in a harmonious whole.
The exhibits covered all sections of tho United
Slates, even those states which felt the deadly chill
of real winter weather in April and May, when all of
tho orchards except those cared for in accordance
with the lessons taught at previous horticultural ex
positions loBt every fruit bud, and from portions of
Canada and Mexico. The immense Auditorium was
a blaze of color from the floor to its vaulted roof, the
tables and banks of ripened fruit forming a beautiful
foundation upon which to rest the skillfully designed
color scheme of complementary ornamentation. The
arrangement was so perfect that everything, even tho
shafts of sunshine that streamed through the high
windows, became a part of the general plan and added
to Its beauty. In no part of the Auditorium wa3
there nn inharmonious object or an unsightly spot.
The exposition opened on Thursday, November 10,
and continued ten days.
Corn Show a Feature.
This year for the first time a corn show feature
was added, backed by an organization designated as
th Missouri Valley Corn Growers' association. It was
planned and carried though by men like Prof1. Bruce
V. Croesley, and all of the field experts of the Iowa
Agricultural college, assisted and encouraged by such
men as Prof. Holder, the apostle of improved corn
culture. The work of these experts has added sev
eral million bushels to Iowa's corn crop this year.
They found prompt and hearty co-operation, not only
nmong the members of the newly formed association
in Iowa and Nebraska, but throughout both states.
lCxhibits were alio received from other adjoining
states, making the first corn show really somethlus of
a national event. The eorn show was staged in an
annex to the main Auditorium, constructed especially
for the purpose. A full carload of grasses and grains
was used in the decorations and a most attractive and
beautiful exhibit of corn wes made.
The other annexes, which provided 40,000 square
feet of floor space, were devoted to the horticultural
products of field and garden and the exhibits and
demonstration of all of the machinery and labor
saving appliances that modern horticultural science
haj called Into being. For the first time in the his
tory of horticultural competitive contests there was
a national contest between the makers of spraying
machinery, with rules and awards made by a commit
tee comprising Profs. J. B. Davidson and Lorens
Greene of the Iowa State Agricultural college, and
expert from Cornell university at Ithaca, X. Y., and
from the Nebraska State university. The competitive
losts were made under conditions approaching actual
service, and tho fruit growers who witnessed them
daily were enabled to choose intelligently the machin- 1 ti"' if " V X W' --!Sk!l
ery best adapted to the needs of their orchards. 1 i .1 1 ' ' W W W -i .. ' l?CSfcSC
Nature's Handiwork Elegantty Displayed.
But it was in the main auditorium, designated this
year as the Educational building, where the greatest
profusion of elegant fruit was found. A more pleas
ing sight could" not be imagined than that which
greeted the visitors as thoy passed through the main
entry doors on the west, stepping from the wintry
world outside into the beauty and glory of a tropical
paradise, where every wave of air was "a wlnsd
odor," and every spot a scene where nature h&'l
emptied her golden horn of plenty. It was here thut
tho best results of modern methods of orcharding
were shown; where, out of tens of thousands of boxes
of apples, there could not be found one that wes de
fective; where one realized fully what "clean fruit"
nienat, fruit unpolluted by presence of worm or
fungus.
Although there were apples from Maine and nearly
all of the New England and middle eastern states, and
from every state along tho Atlantic seaboard where
they can be grown, and from tho great fruit belt in
the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas, and also from
every one of the middle w'est states where science and
modern methods secured exemption from frost dam
age, it remained for the western stateB Idaho, Colo
rado, Utah, Washington and Oregon to show the
world the highest types of fruit development and win
the lion's share of the big prizes.
The intermountain states brought fruit enough to
more than three times fill the space in the exposition
bulldingB. Idaho alone sent six cars for exhibition
and a half dozen more for a reserve stock and to sup
ply the demands of exposition visitors for a box or
two to take home. Idaho's exhibit was a big exposi
tion of itself, and it required several thousand feet of
floor space to stage their offerings.
The Namapa Fruit Growers' association had a car
load exhibit gathered under the direction of Hon. Silaa
Wilson, and in charge of Frank G. Stephens, ron of
E. P. Stephens of Crete, tho well known Nebraska
nurseryman. The Council Valley Fruit Growers' as
sociation also had a carload display In charge of Mr.
and Mrs. J. A. Carr. Tho Manville fruit orchards of
the Boise valley stagod a carlot exhibit and had sev
eral other carloads in reserve, in charge of B. F.
Hurst, manager of the orchard property; B. F. Ray
burn, traveling salesman, and Mrs. Etta Rayburn, the
professional packer. The Payette Valley Commercial
club presented a carlot display in chargo of Will
Wells, with Brown and Donovou, two bright Payette
newspaper men, always present to do the talking.
Twin Falls had a large box display in charge of G. H.
Smith and Allan P. Senior. The Idaho Irrigation
company occupied another vantage point with a mag
nificent display In custody of H. p. Blodgett of
Shoshone. A. E. Wood of Payette found quarters near
by to show up an equally alluring exhibit.
In addition to the fruit displays, Idaho came to
the exposition with a carload or two of vegetables,
grains and alfalfa that swept away all of the major
prizes. And every particle of the products of this
and all of the other western states was grown on irri
gated lands that only a few years ago were classed as
worthless.
Colorado Strongly Represented.
Next to Idaho, Colorado had the largest exhibit at
the exposition, comprising a great profusion of the
varied horticultural products of the Btate. Nine
counties were represented in the fruit display alone,
in charge of Thomas II. Mahouey of Grand Junction!
the active member of the state's immigration society
Clarence Lyman, who proved to be one of the most
entertaining and Instructive of the dally lecturers, and
who willingly appeared on the program every day, and
several times a day, with a splendid assortment of
moving pictures; Prof. E. P. Taylor. Btate entomolo
gist, whose hourly talks grew luto a continuous per
formance; N. A. Ulasco of Loma, Charles A. Smith of
Grand Junction, II. A. Richardson of Delta, who has
been one of the most indefatigable worker at all three
of the Council Bluffs expositions; G. W. Dyer of
Cedar Edge, W. T. Bozeman of Cortez, R. e. Turpin
of Grand Valley and ruaLy otuer Colorado fruit grow
ers who came and went during tho progress of the big
show.
The Colorado men, in addition to haiug oue of the
lurgest and most attractive displays, were looked upon
" w i"e otuer rruit growers in
the country should go to school, for the purpose of
at Council
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learning the host and surest means of- protecting or
chards from fros.3 by use of firo pots. Colorado was
the first fruit-growing state to demonstrate the utility"
of the smudge potp, and tw'o years ago saved $3,000,
000 worth of fruit in the Grand Valley alone, and ac
complished even better results last spring, when win
ter suddenly returned after a month of almost summer
heat. All of theue men wero anxious and enthusi
astically willing to Impart the great fund of valuable
knowledge acquired by their years of experience iu
fruit development and protection In all its phases.
Enemies of Fruit Closely Hunted.
The fruit growers of Colorado have state and dis
trict associations which work in harmony for tho in
terests of all their members. If a new pest comes
into an orchard the local horticulturist is called and
that unwholesome thing gets a degree of attention
immediately that quickly eliminates it, and every
member of the association is taught and drilled in the
nature of tho pest and the methods of destroying it.
Tho teachers arc Prof. Taylor and his lieutenants, and
the association pays tho bills. If new spraying ma
chlneB are placed on the market, or a new material is
discovered, the experimenting is all dono under the
direction of the association's experts and at the cost
of the association. While every Incentive is held out
for original investigation, no grower need use his
time in making experiments. He can get all of tho
information that has been secured to date by simply
expressing a willingness to receive it. In the planting
of trees, their culture and development, their care
throughout the season, care of the fruit after it ripens,
the association has its experts on the ground to guide
and direct, to foster and advise. The result is that in
these beautiful Colorado valleys the greatest univer
sitles for practical instruction are found, and men who
go there with a willingness to work and be taught
how to work are not allowed to fail, no matter how
little they know of the work of fruit growing.
Oregon and Washington in Line.
Oregon and Washington had exhibits that arrested
the attention of the exposition visitors. Their dis
plays wero not as large S3 tboso of other western
states, but each exhibit had to many varieties of per
fect fruit that they were of great value to the grower.
The Washingou exhibit, in charge of Dr. Miller of
Chealn, assisted by N. W. Starr, was one of the most
notable in some respects in the exposition. Dr. Mil
ler's orchard has a krge number of trees of tho fa
mous Delicious variety, and the effect of these trees
upon the other varieties in the orchard has esuLIiahed
tho fact that the Delicious is one of the strongest
poknlzers of the apple family. One of the distinctive
features of the Delicious, which Ib a newly developed
hybrid, is its B llfiower shape and five prongs at tho
blossom end. Of eleven varieties 6hown in the Miller
exhibit every one evidences Fonie of the strong char
acteristics of the Delicious, showing that magnificent
apple is forcing Its characteristics upon all its neigh
bors. Grimes' Golden, Winesap, Homo Beauty, Black
Twig all apples of the flattened forms have been
perceptibly elongated and their ends given five
pronged development by the strong polenizing power
of the Delicious. The quality of none of the apples
affected has been deteriorated by the dominating In
dividuality of the Dellclour, but all have shown
marked Improvement iu flavor.
Oregon's display, like that of its sister state, was
limited to an imposing array of splendid varieties and,
like thobe of Washington, showed the effects of new
environment and diferent soils. There was as much
difference between the Winesap groan in Oregon aud
Washington and that produced in Iowa and Nebraska
as between two distinct varieties, and the changes
1 A . A A 1... .1 ,..
rmuuiru u lue western environment in every case
,eeraed to Le decided improvement. Portions of the
Bluffs Best
a nun
TWIN F'ATLS, IDAHO, E ZHl BIT OF
F&UlTSiRAWt VECjETABLES, CORW
Washington and Oregon exhibits were of additional
interest for tho reason that they wero grown on non
irrigated lands, and afforded excellent opportunities
for determining the relative fruit values of the same
varieties grown under the two conditions. The ex
pression was universally ' in favor of the irrigated
fruit. The Portland exhibit was in charge of G. II.
Florenco of Portland.
A significant feature of all the western exhibits
was the assertion, backed up by proof whenever ques
tioned, that the apples on exhibition were tho regular
commercial pack taken from the stock ready for mar
ket, aud In no instances selected for display purposes.
Every one of the western exhibitors was eager to be
questioned, even if tho questioner challenged tho ac
curacy of some of the tales told of wonderful fertility
of soil and capacity of trees. Proofs almost as au
thoritative as holy writ were instantly forthcoming
when statements were doubted. Single apple trees
that bore more than sixty bushels this season wero
told of and photographs produced showing tho tree
propped by huge posts and its overladen boughs held
aloft by supports until it appeared to be growing
above the trestle work of a bridge.
Utah and Wyoming did not attempt to make much
of a showing. Frosts and severe unseasonable
weather rendered the apple crop too nearly a failure,
but Utah niado good w ith it display of photos of peach
orchards and tales of wonderful productivity of its
irrigated soils.
Nebraska Not Entirely Out of It.
It required something of a seer to promise a dis
play from Nebraska when Jack Frost completed his
work last spring, but nevertheless ono of the prettiest
tables ut the exposition was covered with Nebraska
apples. The display was made by the State Horticul
tural society and was in charge of G. S. Christy of
Johnson. More than a dozen varieties were shown,
all suptrb specltr.eus of their kiad. it van pointed
out that those varieties are the kinds that pl.ould re
ceive the greatest attention of Nebraska fruit growers.
Among them were Rhodo Island Greenings, New
towns, Delicious, Missouri Pippins, York Imperials,
Winter Bananas, Red Romanlte, Roman Stems, Iowa
Blacks and Smith's Cider, many of them the world's
standard fruits. They compared very favorably In
color and size, and also In flavor with apples grown
under more hospitable surroundings.
The Arkansas snd Missouri exhibits were entered
by the Ozarl; Fruit Growers' association and were in
charge of Captain G. T. Lincoln of Bentonville, Ark.;
D. E. Either, president of the Arkaueatt State Horti
cultural society, and a number of others. The ex
hibits represented one of the greatest fruit-growing
districts iu the world, and which was almost unheard
of until these national fruit shows came into vogue.
The Ozark association represents 40,000,000 bearing
fruit trees and 20,000 acres devoted to the culture of
small fruits.
North Carolina made a splendid exhibit under the
direction of Prof. W. N. Hutt of Raleigh, one of the
leading scientific horticulturists of tho United States.
He Is one of the founders of the National Horticultural
congress and one of its most enthusiastic workers.
Maryland sent Prof. C. P. Close of the College
Held There
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Park station, second vice president of the congrest,
with a lavish display of Its best fruits and nuts.
Iowa, Illinois, Minncbota, Wisconsin and Soulti
Dakota Joined Canada iu showing that May frtczea
cannot wholly extinguish the apple crop, and each on
found enough splendid fruit to mako creditable dis
plays. Far away Maine sent shipments of its hardy
Pilgrim-day fruits, some gathered from apple treca
that have been bearing for more than seventy-five
years. It should be remembered that an applo tree
in Maine doeB not begin to bear until it is about 25
years old, and some of tho venerable New England
trees from which the fruit was gathered wero a cen
tury old.
Educational Value Was Great.
The close of the exposition emphasized tho impor
tance of such events. National fruit expositlong are
the most potent agencies for bringing about tho per
fect couditlonB that will characterize the noon era of
a period which is now Just dawning, and which will
indeed be glorious; for the fruit growers insist th
whole level of humanity will be carried forward to
heights undreamed of now. The community of in
terest of orchardists la emphasized and the bonds of
brotherhood strengthened. Lagging energies are
spurred into new activity. Tho weakness of over
eonfldeuce Is Jarred and modified. The orchardist
who has taught himself to believo that his locality ia
the no plus ultra location for the development of good
fruit is taught the wholesome lesson that nature ia
prodigal of her favors and manages to even up thinga
pretty nicely all over the country. Most of all ia the
truth enforced that good results are the product of
good care, intelligent methods and constant industry.
Tho concrete benefits were many and great, but
the exposition was especially a great advertising me
dium for the fruit sections which took part. It
further stimulated tho interest In fruit growing ufld
the demands for fruit lands, especially in the west.
The educational value of tho show cannot be estimated
and It ia very certain that no grower who attended It
can truthfully say that the information he received In
grading and packing was not worth the price he paid
for his Journey to the show. Many a grower went to
the exposition and opened up his display with a feeling
of pride that Indicated his belief he had the finest
fruit ever grown. In many cases this confident indi
vidual wad doomed to disappointment when be waa
forced to make comparisons of his exhibit with the
displays of other competitors in the same clasa. Grow
ers were forced to admit that there were other sections
of the country which grew fruit and packed It in aa
elegant a manner, and often a little better, than they
did. One very pleasant thing about the whole affair
was the fact that in each case where there waa dlsap
lwintnient It was followed by frank admission of de
feat and the exprefblon of the determination not to
let it happen again.
Everywhere, from the opening flay until the lights
were turned off Saturday ulght, the concrete lessons
taught covered Intensive methods, concentration of
energy upou small orchard areas, the highest devel
opment ot each individual apple, peach, pear and other
fruit; the fullest comprehension of the nature of the
tree required for its greatest productivity aud Oerel
opment of perfect fruit.
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