The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-02-08
THURSDAY EvEN'G FEB. s, 1872.
PROTECTION TO FRuIr

NV SSAho-N ~ null
Few States are better adapted to fruit
raising than Virginia. In soil and climate, as
we'll as in the means for commanding q ready
market, it has peculiar advantages over
many of our most successful fruit-growing
States. Many of our finest varieties of APP
ples-those sought after as among the
choicest the markets afEord-are raised here
in great abundance, and their quality is
scarcely inferior to those produced in the
most favored localities of the country. The
crop, also, is among the most certain and
reliable of all farm products; and, as the
first investment is almost the only one that
has to be made-the trees, when properly
set out, maturing their growth without
further cost---our more thrifty set
lers, coming from successful fruit
growing sections, are quick to avail
themselves of the advantages of young
orchards; and we may see now, in some
parts Of the State, as many as thousand
young and vigorous trees growing in sin
gle Enclosure or orchard. The selections
Of course are choice, and made with refer
ence to soil and climate, as the different va
rieties have been tested in regard to these
conditions. They are also selected with
reference to early bearing, and the 'first
fruits" Of mans industry in this line
have a peculiar value attached to them
which no subsequent crop can give. 1t is
intensely annoying to farmers, therefore, to
have the finest and best fruit of their young
trees-such as they may desire to
test in size, quality and flavor
purloined by some theving marauder even
before it has reached the proper stage OF
maturity to pluck. Complaints have come
to us from many an indignant fruit-grower
in the State, of this sort of depreciation,
committed upon their young orchards and
one, in particular, which showed greater
aggravation of surrounding circumstances
than we should care to have exerted even
on our own cquable temper.
The owner of q fine young orchard in the
county of Fairfax-one that he had set out
with his OWE hands, and priced more than
any other improvement upon his large and
valuable property-had, it seems, arrested
one of these thieves in the very act of bag
ging bushel of his choicest fruit. The
depredator turned out to be one of his
nsighbors-a shiftless, idle, good-for-noth-
ing fellow, too lazy to grow fruit for him.
himself, but, unfortunately, not too lazy
to steal it when grown by others
and he was turned over to the proper Off
GERS of the law for the rectiication of his
infirmity in the fruit-stealing direction.
The magistrate before whom his case was
tried, after ON elaborate display of illegal
lore" from the counsel defending him, de-
cided that taking the apples off the trees
was no larceny, but only simple tres
pass while, if he had picked them up
from Under the trees, it would have been
larceny, and no trespass. As the com
plant was simply for larceny, and the
proof that he took them off the trees, the
fellow got his apples, and went scot free.
Technically, perhaps, this is law /; but it
is one of those nice, hair-splitting distinc-
tons which originally grew out of the Gin
trinity of technics" in the common law,
and should have no place in a rational and
well-adjusted code in these days.
What the farmers really want is, a law
that shall as effectually protect them in
fruit growing as in any other branch of
their industry; that shall make the act of
wilfully taking fruit from the trees of
another, the same offense as taking grain
from the barn or horse from the stable of
another. 1t should be declared larceny,
either simple or aggravated, and punished
accordingly. In some parts of the State
these petty trespasses upon orchards, gar
iens, melon patches, strawberry beds, and
fruit-bearins vines generally, have become
30 common and annoying to farmers that
ceiling Of encouragement and extreme dis
content pervades entire communities of ag-
riculturists. They see no relief in the law
IS it now is, except to raise fruit in such
abundance as to let the thieves take what
hey want, and run their own chances for
'urplus over. This should be rectifed. A
bill could be drawn by any good lawyer in
fifteen minutes time, which would remedy
n very great measure the evil. Is there
lot some one in the General Assembly to
10 it? AT all events, make the offense of
yilfully stripping trees of their fruit equal
o that of picking up an apple when it has
allen to the ground.