England, at Roanoke Island, and at Jamestown, was to make wine of
the native grapes. The Spaniards in 1564 also made wine of the wild
grapes of Florida. After testing the wine and finding it inferior to
that produced in their old homes, they were more determined to grow
vineyards of the choicest grapes of Europe. The French established a
vineyard of this kind in Virginia, and another in southern Illinois;
and William Penn did the same near Philadelphia in 1683. The most
notable attempt that was made was by John James Dufour, a native of
Switzerland. He came to America in 1796, and at once set about doing
the wisest thing that he could have done, by first visiting and
critically examining the vineyards that had already been started. He
was not favorably impressed by what he saw, for the European vines
had done very poorly, because of some unknown disease or weakness
that seemed to cause them to make but feeble growth, or gradually
dwindle and die. The cause has since been found to have been the fungus
diseases and insect pests that are peculiar to the eastern half of
America. But Dufour thought the right varieties had not been tried,
except a few that he found near Philadelphia. From these he secured a
start, and in 1799 organized a stock company with $10,000 in capital,
to plant a vineyard, Henry Clay being one of the stockholders. A tract
of 633 acres was selected near Lexington, Ky., and there he began work
in the most enthusiastic manner. He induced two of his brothers to come
from Switzerland to join him, and they brought other varieties of their
best grapes. But after three years’ trial he gave it up as a hopeless
effort and turned his attention to the cultivation of our native grapes.
The beginning of successful grape culture in America may be said to
have been made by Dufour, in his next or second attempt, which was in
1802, at Vevay, Ind., on the banks of the Ohio, and with a variety of
the wild _Vitis labrusca_, or fox grape, found near the Schuylkill
River before the Revolutionary War. It was at first called the “Cape”
grape, from a mistaken notion that it had been brought from the Cape
of Good Hope. It was also known by several other names. Although this
grape was the first of a very long list of native varieties which
have made our country famous in grape culture, it has long since been
entirely abandoned for better kinds. But the vineyard at Vevay,
planted largely of this variety, was the first really successful one in
America.
[Illustration: SINGLE VINE OF “LADY DE COVERLY” GRAPE (SEEDLESS) GROWN
BY J. P. ONSTOTT, MARYVILLE, CAL.]
The next forward step was the introduction of the Isabella and Catawba,
both having originated in America, not long previous to 1820, although
of unknown parentage; but, perhaps, as the results of accidental
crossing between our native wild grapes and some of the foreign kinds.
The Isabella is supposed to have originated in South Carolina, and was
brought from there by Mrs. Isabella Gibbs and planted in her garden
in Brooklyn, N. Y., where it came to the notice of William R. Prince
in 1816, when in full bearing. He named it Isabella in her honor, and
introduced it to the general public.
The Catawba is supposed to have originated as a seedling near the
Catawba River, in North Carolina, but was not generally known until
Major John Adlum, of the District of Columbia, found it in bearing on
the premises of Mrs. Scholl, a tavern keeper of Clarksburgh, Md. He
was at once delighted with its good qualities, and planted it in his
experiment grounds at Georgetown in 1819, and introduced it to the
fruit-loving public soon after.
The next impetus to grape culture was caused by the introduction of
the Delaware and Concord. The exact origin of the Delaware is not
known, but it came to public notice about 1855, through the efforts of
Mr. A. Thomson and George W. Campbell, of Delaware, O. It was learned
afterwards that the same variety was growing in 1850, in the garden of
a Swiss immigrant, Paul H. Provost, at Frenchtown, N. J. It may be that
it originated at this place from a chance seed, and that cuttings were
thence carried to Ohio. It is evidently a cross between the foreign
species and one of our natives, and is to-day about the best of all the
grapes grown in the Eastern States.
The Concord is a pure native seedling, produced by Ephraim W. Bull, of
Concord, Mass., and first shown to the public at Boston in 1853. It
has proved itself to be the greatest blessing of all grapes that have
ever been grown in America. Its thriftiness and reliability under all
circumstances are unequaled. It is not only good in itself, but it has
been the parent of a race of seedlings which have filled our vineyards,
gardens, and markets with the most delicious grapes, and at a very
slight cost of labor or money. Whoever gathers or buys a basket of
blue-black Concord or Worden, purple Brighton or opal Niagara, should
render a silent thank-offering to the memory of Ephraim W. Bull, who
made their existence a possibility.
The first commercial vineyard of importance was planted by Nicholas
Longworth, on the hills overlooking the Ohio River, about ten miles
below Cincinnati, and it was largely of Catawba. Many others followed
his example, and from about 1830 to 1860 so great an interest was
shown that the hills bordering the Ohio for many miles were dotted
with vineyards. But mildew and black rot devastated them and almost
destroyed their usefulness. These diseases are now largely overcome by
spraying with a solution of sulphate of copper.
In northern Ohio, about Cleveland and Sandusky, and on the islands near
the southern shore of Lake Erie, the Catawba was planted with much
better success, owing, perhaps, to the climate not being so favorable
to grape diseases. The lake region of western New York is perhaps
more densely planted with grapes than any section east of California.
Thousands of carloads of grapes of high quality are shipped from
there every year. The Southern States have awakened somewhat to the
importance of grape culture. Some of the poorest sandy lands of North
Carolina and Florida have been planted to vines and found to produce,
when fertilized, excellent grapes. Texas is also a most productive
grape region. Their earliness causes them to find a ready market in the
North.
But in all of North America there is no section where the grape
flourishes with such wonderful success as in California and other
regions beyond the Rocky Mountains. There the tenderest and most
delicious of all the grapes of France, Italy, Persia, and Palestine
ripen their luscious clusters beneath the glowing skies. The grapes
of Eshcol, I imagine, did not surpass those now grown in California,
Arizona, New Mexico, and Idaho. All up and down their fertile valleys
and foot-hills may be seen great stretches of vineyard after vineyard.
The raisin industry alone is immense; and the product is of such high
quality and is produced at so low cost that the importation of European
raisins is becoming less each year, and may soon be practically at an
end. We have already begun exporting our raisins to England and other
parts of the world. Over 103,000,000 pounds, filling 5000 cars, were
shipped from California alone in one year. Single clusters of grapes
have frequently been grown in California that weighed from ten to
fifteen pounds, and four or five pound clusters are very common. Truly,
America is a land of grapes.
THE BERRIES.—America stands alone in the popular use of berries.
Except in the matter of gooseberries and currants, which are rather
plentiful in some parts of Europe, and a few strawberries and
raspberries there and in Japan, there are very few berries grown
outside of America.
The strawberry was found wild here in all sections. The fruit was
small but of most delicious flavor. A few of the varieties grown in
the mother country were brought over here, but they did not flourish.
About 1834 C. M. Hovey, of Cambridge, Mass., grew some seedlings of
the old Pine strawberry, which is an offshoot of the wild strawberry
of the west coast of South America, and his introduction of varieties
named Hovey and Boston Pine marked the first step in our modern
strawberry culture. Next came the Wilson, which originated about 1850
on the grounds of John Wilson, of Albany, N. Y. This variety really
popularized the growing of strawberries, because of its hardiness and
productiveness. Soon after this the Crescent was found at New Orleans,
La. Other kinds were soon originated from seed by experimenters, and
chance seedlings were found coming up in all fruit-growing regions.
It was not long until there were hundreds of named varieties of good
quality and that bore abundantly. Within the last decade or two there
have been hundreds more originated by the most skillful hybridizers
using our native species and the foreign ones also. Others just as
good were picked up wherever they chanced to grow from seed. Thus, we
now have the most wonderful assortment of varieties of the strawberry
in the world. They are early, medium, and late. The facilities
for shipping are so convenient that, now, it is possible to have
strawberries in the fancy markets almost every day of the year, from
some section of our great country. In the flush of the season they are
so cheap and abundant that the poor can enjoy them along with the rich.
From little garden patches fifty years ago, and very small ones too, we
have now come to grow them by the thousand acres.
The raspberry is another of our delicious berries. At first our
pioneers were satisfied with those they could gather from the wild
bushes. Following the same plan that was used with most other fruits,
the European raspberries were brought over the sea and planted in the
gardens of America. But they did poorly, and about 1850 our people
began to plant the native varieties. These grew and bore well. Now we
have hundreds of the very choicest named kinds, black, red, purple, and
yellow, early and late, and more being originated every year.
The history of the gooseberry is almost identical with that of the
raspberry. The foreign kinds, although bearing very much larger fruit
than our native kinds, were ruined by mildew. About 1845 Abel Houghton,
of Massachusetts, grew a seedling from the wild berry, which was named
Houghton, and from this came another seedling, the Downing, which was
originated at Newburgh, N. Y., some years later. These two varieties
are now among our very best kinds. Since the benefits of spraying with
fungicides have been known, the larger and milder flavored English
kinds are being grown with considerable success.
The blackberry is found native only in America. It has been one of the
most useful of all our wild fruits from the earliest settlement of the
country, and was used by the aborigines for centuries before. Until
about 1840 there was not enough thought given to blackberry culture
to make the least attempt in that direction, when Captain Lovett, of
Beverly, Mass., gave the name Dorchester to a chance variety, and
distributed it. Soon after 1850 the Lawton was taken from its wild
habitat on the banks of the Hudson River. This variety was the first
really good blackberry that was named and distributed. The Kitatinny
followed about ten years later, having been found wild in the mountains
of western New Jersey. At least two white varieties, and several having
pink berries, that were found growing wild, were named and sent out.
These novelties are yet cultivated by a few amateur horticulturists. It
may seem strange to say that we have white and red blackberries, but it
is a fact. At this date we have many kinds of later introduction, some
early and some late, and of most delicious flavor.
Perhaps all Americans know that cranberry sauce goes with Thanksgiving
turkey. No country in the world has so many cranberries as North
America. The bogs of Cape Cod are famous for this fruit, and the
Pilgrims of Plymouth colony knew of them, and served them on their
rustic tables. Now the wild marshes along the Atlantic are nearly all
under cultivation, and the product has been increased many fold. Fully
1,000,000 bushels are marketed when the crop is good. The same is being
done with the bogs in the vicinity of the Great Lakes. Cranberries grow
in untold quantities on the marshes of Alaska.
CITRUS FRUITS.—When the Spaniards invaded Florida in search of gold
they brought with them seeds of the citrus fruits from the regions
of the Mediterranean. There the orange, lemon, and lime were planted
in the genial climate of our Southern borders. The fruit was carried
hither and thither, and soon escaped the bounds of the cultivated
areas. The forests in places were filled with wild orange trees, the
most of which bore fruit of poor quality. When the tide of immigration
set southward after the Civil War, these wild groves were budded
to good varieties, and new land was cleared and planted with small
seedlings. These were budded to good varieties in due time. Orange
culture was soon a fixed industry in Florida. This increased rapidly up
to the time of the severe freeze of 1894–95, when there were shipped
over 5,000,000 boxes. Since then the results of the freezing of the
trees has greatly lessened the product, but it is steadily increasing
again.
The lemon has attracted much less interest than the orange, but I have
seen one lemon orchard in Florida of more than two hundred acres, and
there are many smaller ones.
The lime is but little called for, and is therefore grown more as a
novelty than for commercial purposes.
The pomelo, by some misnamed “grape-fruit,” is a very large, wholesome,
and delicious citrus fruit that is becoming quite popular where it
grows, and in the northern markets.
[Illustration: ORANGE ORCHARD OF LYMAN PHELPS, SANFORD, FLA.]
In California the orange was first planted by the mission fathers
centuries ago. The first real orchard is said to have been planted at
San Gabriel in 1804. Before the discovery of gold in that far-away
region very few orange orchards existed there, and they were of small
size. Up to 1872 very little more than this was done, when the founding
of the colony at Riverside, and the fortunate introduction of the Bahia
or Navel orange from Brazil by our government, at this juncture, was
the start of prosperous citrus culture on that coast. Now there are
annually about 5,000,000 boxes of oranges sent out of that State alone,
and the amount is steadily increasing. A large part of these are of the
justly famous Navel variety.
Lemon growing is also becoming a great industry there. Orchards of one
hundred acres are rather common, and some are fully five times larger.
Over 2,000,000 boxes of lemons were produced the past season.
THE OLIVE.—Among the historic fruits of Palestine and southern Europe
the olive holds a conspicuous place. Numerous but futile attempts were
made in early times to establish it in Virginia and along the Atlantic
coast, the climate there proving unsuitable. But in the warmer parts of
California the olive is perfectly at home. The first olive orchard of
consequence was planted by Ellwood Cooper, at Santa Barbara, in 1872,
and in 1876 he made oil from the fruit grown on the trees. Now there
are many extensive orchards in many parts of the State. It is estimated
that there are nearly 2,000,000 olive trees now growing in that State.
The oil and pickled fruit are steadily becoming popular in our fancy
markets in competition with the foreign product.
[Illustration: OLIVE ORCHARD, QUITO RANCH, NEAR SAN JOSE, CAL.]
THE FIG.—Very little is done in fig culture east of California,
although the trees are not tender along the Gulf coast, except in case
of extremely severe winters. In California it is a decided success,
commercially as well as for mere pleasure. The past year dried figs
to the amount of nearly 4,000,000 pounds were sent to market, and the
quantity has been constantly increasing for several years.
THE PINEAPPLE.—Those who have never seen pineapples growing are apt
to think they are produced on trees. This is far from the fact. They
grow on the tips of stalks about two feet high. The plants have large
narrow leaves that cluster at the ground, from the centre of which
these stalks spring. A few patches were planted on the islands near
the Florida coast in 1860, but it is only about fifteen years since
the first vigorous attempts were made to grow this delicious fruit in
the United States. Florida is the only region within our country where
the climate is sufficiently moist and warm for it to flourish. Along
the east coast, from Rock Ledge southward, and on the west coast below
Tampa, are the most favorable sections. Many acres are devoted to
its culture there. Frosts damage the plants sometimes, but they soon
recover. In central Florida, many acres are grown under sheds. These
are made of frame-work, which is covered with slats or boughs as a
protection from frost. Upwards of 3,000,000 fruits of marketable size
are now produced in Florida annually.
OTHER FRUITS.—The date is just beginning to be set in the arid regions
of Arizona and southern California, and with good prospects of success.
Already many trees are in bearing, and the fruit is of excellent
quality. The choicest varieties have been imported from Africa. The
guava is being grown in the warm parts of Florida and California. The
mango has been fruited in the warmest parts of Florida and California.
[Illustration: PINEAPPLE FIELD AT PALM BEACH, FLA.]
NUTS.—The sweet almond of southern Europe has long been tested in
America, but nowhere with success except in California, where there are
almond orchards of several hundred acres each. The Persian (wrongly
called English) walnut is a great success in the richer lands of
California, where orchards of majestic trees have been in full bearing
for many years. Of our native nuts the pecan is the best of all, and
it is about the only one that has so far proved worthy of cultivation.
It is found in a wild state in Illinois, Missouri, and Nebraska, and
southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The creek and river bottoms suit it
best, but it will do very well on almost any rich land. On some of
the hammock lands of Florida hundreds of acres are now planted to
the pecan. The largest pecan orchard is that of F. A. Swinden, of
Brownwood, Texas, which covers over five hundred acres, and is being
increased from year to year.
Our native chestnut is of better quality than the foreign kinds, but
the nuts are much smaller. The largest are from Japan, some of which
are two inches in diameter. Many of these choice kinds have been
imported, and others were originated from seeds, which are now being
planted in orchards. The best of the European chestnuts have also been
imported, and new kinds have been grown here from the nuts. Nearly all
of these varieties succeed in America, and many small orchards have
been planted. Some have grafted sprouts from our native chestnut stumps
and small trees with these improved kinds, and found them to grow and
bear abundantly.
The cocoanut is strictly tropical, and can only be grown in the very
warmest parts of Florida. It will not endure as low a temperature as
the pineapple without injury. As a commercial venture its culture will
probably never pay in America, but for ornamental purposes and as an
interesting novelty it is already a success from Lake Worth southward.
The waving plumes of this giant palm are a source of constant delight
to those who are privileged to see them. The huge clusters of nuts are
indeed an interesting sight.
Surely we have a great and fruitful country, from the cranberry bogs of
arctic Alaska to the waving cocoanut groves of Florida. This century
closes and the new one begins with wonderful advances in fruit culture
beyond those of a hundred years ago.
THE CENTURY’S COMMERCIAL PROGRESS
BY EMORY R. JOHNSON, A.M.,
_Asst. Prof. of Transportation and Commerce, University of
Pennsylvania_.
Commercial activity has three phases, trade, shipping, and
shipbuilding. In each of these three phases of commerce the nineteenth
century has witnessed a remarkable progress. The expansion of both
domestic and international trade has far exceeded the anticipations of
those who lived a hundred years ago; and the agencies of transportation
by water, the numerous auxiliaries of commerce and the shipbuilding
industries, have undergone a technical revolution so complete, and
with consequences so beneficent to our social and industrial life,
as to make the commercial progress of the past hundred years one of
the salient features of the history of the century. We shall better
appreciate the nature and scope of the commercial progress of the past
hundred years, if we glance for a moment at a picture of the commerce
of the world at the close of the eighteenth century.
I. MAIN FEATURES OF THE WORLD’S COMMERCE AT THE CLOSE OF THE EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY.
A hundred years ago, the volume of trade, both domestic and foreign,
was necessarily kept within proportions relatively small as compared
with present traffic, because of the slowness and high costs of inland
transportation. Domestic inland traffic is directly dependent upon
facilities for water and land transportation, and until the railroad
came into use, some seventy years ago, only those countries having
numerous navigable rivers or well-developed canal systems could extend
their commerce much beyond the cities and districts adjacent to tide
water. In all ages since the world became civilized enough to engage
in commerce, an overland traffic by caravan or wagon has been carried
on; but the amount of commodities could not be large, and the kinds of
goods transported were necessarily limited to articles of high value
per unit of bulk or weight. Such an inland traffic as this did not
establish the basis for a large coastwise or over-sea commerce.
At present, bulky commodities produced long distances from the
sea-ports comprise a large portion of international traffic, and supply
the coast cities with the raw materials from which they manufacture
the articles they contribute to swell the volume of foreign trade.
When the means were wanting for the inland transportation of these
bulky commodities, only a few countries, such as Phœnicia, the Italian
cities, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the British
colonies in America, could develop an important maritime commerce.
During the past fifty years, the improvements in transportation have
been such as to enable all industrial countries, inland as well as
maritime, to engage extensively in the world’s trade. Commerce has
become general; and countries like Switzerland and Saxony readily
market their wares the world over.
The volume of foreign trade, as late as a hundred years ago, was
really small, even in the case of the most important commercial
nations. The imports and exports of the United Kingdom in 1800 amounted
to about $360,000,000, which, for a population of approximately
18,000,000, would be about $20 per capita. At that time the trade of
the United Kingdom was about one tenth what it is now. At the present
time the foreign commerce of the United Kingdom amounts to nearly $100
for each inhabitant of the country.
The thirteen British colonies in America and the original commonwealths
of the United States were all maritime States with navigable rivers,
and their industries, lumbering, fisheries, production of food
products and tobacco, called for the exchange of large quantities
of commodities with the manufacturers of the home country, and with
the tropical islands of the West Indies. For their time, then, these
States were large traders. The statistical information which we
possess of their commerce is meagre, but we know that the total trade
of the colonies with the mother country in 1770 was about $13,000,000
a year, or something over four dollars per person. There was a trade
of considerable proportions with the West Indies, some with the
Mediterranean countries and Africa, and, after the colonies became
States, with the East Indies and the Orient; but in all probability the
foreign trade of the Americans did not reach ten dollars per capita
until after 1790. At the present time, in spite of the very rapid
growth of population in the United States that has continued throughout
the nineteenth century, our foreign trade is equal to twenty-five
dollars per person.
It is when the commerce of the eighteenth century is viewed from the
standpoint of the transportation agencies by which it was served—the
size, speed, and efficiency of the ships—that the contrast with
present conditions becomes most striking. Two hundred years ago, the
560 ships owned at London averaged 157 tons. A century ago, a vessel
of 300 tons was still considered a large ship, and as late as 1840
vessels of that size traded from the United States to India and China.
The Grand Turk, of 564 tons, built in 1791, was probably the largest
ship built in America up to that time. During the fourth decade of the
nineteenth century numerous vessels of over 1000 tons were constructed,
and in 1840 the Great Britain of 3000 tons was ordered. In her day
the Great Britain was more of a marvel than is the recently launched
Oceanic, of 28,500 tons displacement.