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In 1847, Luelling, his wife, and eight children came west on the Oregon Trail, bringing a wagon loaded with an assortment of 50 or 60 varieties of apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, quince, black walnuts, hickory nuts, gooseberries, currants, and grapes. All told, the wagon had about 700 young plants. By fall, he and his family had arrived safe and sound in Oregon. Settling in Milwaukie, Luelling started a nursery with his son-in-law, William Meek. He planted his "traveling orchard," and began grafting trees. By 1853, he had 100,000 trees for sale, selling them for $1 to $1.50 each. Orchardists snapped up these trees, using them to plant orchards and start nurseries. Before Luelling, growers relied on seedling fruit, which was often small, with insipid flavor, and other problems. By bringing the finest varieties of fruit to Oregon, Luelling moved gardening a giant step forward.
Source: Thomas C. McClintock, "Henderson Luelling, Seth Lewelling and the Birth of the Pacific Coast Fruit Industry," Oregon Historical Quarterly 60, no. 2 (June, 1967}: 153-174.
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