The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-07-01


looked by homes seekers until the pub
lie domain has been largely occupied.
The passion which has taken most
complete possession of the American
people is that for riches quickly and
easily acquired. This is beyond ques-
ton one of the rctrogradc movements
which charactcrizes our development
one of the eddies in the stream of our
flow into more complete natural life,
for it is step toward Notwithstanding
barism-rathcr than toward II settled,
sharply defined dcivilization. And with
the expression of this passion, which
has sent home seekers to prairics rather
than into forests, to land not heavily
timbered rather than that which Is so,
has come Il general neglect of Western
Washingtou's most valuable interests.
For long period only her timber was
known; now her coal is beginning to
receive some attention; soon her iron
will enlist some capital; but an inter
est which is destined to benefit this
land aS much, if not more, than any oi
the interests named, has yet to he
brought to public notice, and so placed
before our people as to obtain the rec
ognition it merits. We say it is des-
tined to benefit our people rs much or
more than any one of the three great
interests which we have already
named, because they are interests
which only large capita! can develop
successfully this is one which every
home-makcr within our borders can
engage in prohtably y-and that is eX-
actly its chief merit; ii is something
| that all who have II few acres of land,
and few hours per day 10 devote to
it can engage in. :. w. Brown, of
Vancouver, n careful and reliable nur-
seryman, says that from one acre Of
prune trees, planted lSXlS feet a part,
there may be put up not less than fifty
pounds of dried fruit per annum per
tree, or 600 pounds per acre. such
fruit finds a ready market in almost
every quarter of the world and, like
wheat, may be shipped anywhere. At
present, prunes command ~ cents per
pound in our home market, and would
! doubtless command not less than 10
cents per pound in large quantities.
At Il cents per pound, the product of
an acre, aS above rccitcd, would ne
| Sl,Ol2 80. The work of fitting the land
| for the trees and the planting of the
same need not be very great, and the
expense Of the trees need not exceed
| 20 cents each, or S27 per acre. They
may be so selected as to ripcn their
fruit from the first of August to the
end of October, thus giving the family
period oil three months in which to
harvest and pick the crop. This W. ld
require them to dry and pick only -
pounds per day. To accomplish this,
eithc. Of two methods may be en-
ployed Each family may build IA
II nj Il in, W Ia ial
that work could be easily done, or sew
eral families living adjacent could join
and build dryer on larger scale.
But the profit Of the plum and prune
crop, put on the markets of the world,
dried and nicely packed, is only one
of several. The blackberry, raspberry,
apple, currant, cherry, corn, potatoes
and we know not how many other
fruits and vegetables, may be dried
and find market at rcmunerative
prices. This climate and our soil con
stitute almost the native home OF SOM
of these fruits and vegetables, and il
them, all do we'll. Nowhere can NOR,
delicious cherries be found than here.
and our apples, pears, currants, berries
and all kinds of vegetables have rep
utation in Europe and in the East for
their excellence.
We can compete with the world in
driving fruit. II has been demon
strated that all fruit drying must be
done artiiicially. A few years ago Cal
ifornia tried the experiment of making
raisins by sunshine, and it will he adj
mitted that of all things California has
superabundance Of sunshine, which,
IL il could be worked into raisin- max
ing, would be very profitably en-
ployed. But flies and vast swarms OF
insect life revel in sunshine and take
up their abode in fruit In the process
OF drying; consequently Colifornia's
sun-dried rasins could not find
profitable market. As II consequence
the Alden and other dryers were
brought into requisition, aud Blowers,
of Yolo county, bought out, under two
patents, dry-house, in which he
manufactures raisins which sell In New
York at par with the very best grades
OF the Malaga product Now such
lighthouses can be built and conducted
here more cheaply than in any other
fruit-growing country In the world;
hence we have only to take hold of
this industry to establish reputation
and market for our dried fruits
throughout the civilized world.
And as before stated, this would be
especially valuable toour Territory,
because Il IL calculated from the very
nature Of IL, to bless the many, to help
the condition of the poor, To so better
the circumstances OF the people that
the children will be better educated
and the necessities OF civilization be
more certainly and more generally Sc