Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1891-07-24

FEARS
Much has been written about Wash
lngt"n pears, a. to their prodigious
sue, and their cXCellcncy in quality
and color. There is no fruit tree that
Will excel the pear tree in growth and
pr"ductivcnesS This climate and soil
seem I" hr perfect and cOngcnial to
IT. growth All varieties of pears do
well here. yet the famous Bartlett
leads all Others now in cultivation.
CHERRIES
The cherry tree grows vigorously
and Is very productive throughout the
state. The western portion bf the
state cxcels the eastern part i'm grow
ing a greater variety OF cherries The
Heart, Dukes and Morelles grow to a
degree "f perfection that is net wit
messed elsewhere. 4 tree full OF ripe
cherries is great sight, as the cherries
are seen, not only in lunches, hut are
~ thick that they appear like ropes of
cherries. cut four short limbs from
"A tree. the longest being but thirteen
inches, III the summer of 1889. The
cherries upon these limbs weighed
over nine pounds. Every home here
can have an abundance of cherries.
Plum AND PRIME.
There is probably no place on the
face of the globe that can excel Wash
ington in the production of these
fruits. A prune orchard, after 1t is
eight years old, will net the owner
from 800 to 5000 per acre Annually.
Hundreds of acres are being planted
every year, and prune.raising is soon
destined to be one of the leading in
dustrics Of this State. The annual
importation of dried prunes to the
United States is over 100000
pounds, which insurcs good home
market for all the prunes we can
raise.
This fruit is grown very extensively
east Of the mountains, and to some
extent west of them; yet the western
part of the State is too cool in the
summer for it to be good peach
country, while the eastern produces as
fine peaches as can be produced any
where.
WILD FRUIT.
There are not as many kinds of
wild fruits found growing in the east
ern part of the State as iri the western
part. While the cultivated grape at
tains perfection east OF the mountains,
yet there is not found to my knowledge
any species of the wild grape growing
in this State. There is a small bush
that produces berries that resemble
the grape in appearance only. They
are called the Oregon grapes, but they
are not grapes, or of any species of the
grape. The wild blackberry, straw
berry, gooseberry, currant, red and
black huckleberry, salmonberry and
other berries are plentiful in their sea-
son in the timbered lands in various
parts of the State.
Our forest contain no nut-bearing
trees; yet the walnut, chestnut hick-
orynut and other nut. bearing trees,
when planted, make rapid growth and
produce regularly fine crops of nuts.
SMALL FRUIT
All kinds of small fruits are pro.
duced in great abundance over the
entire State. There has always been
q dispute between the western and
eastern parts of the State as to which
could produce the greatest amount OF
small fruit to the acre, such as straw
brerries. blackberries, raspterries, cur
rants, gOoseberries, etc. But there is
no dispute that the eastern part of the
State is superior to the western part
in the production of grapes. There
are some fine grapes grown in the
western part Of the State, but the
summers are not warm enough to
produce fine grapes and melons
hence, the eastern part of the State is
depended upon for those fruits.
Having stated that fruit and vege-
tables are produced in great abundance,
and the soil very productive, it is
proper here to show by reliable and au-
thenticated statements Of orchardists
and gardeners how abundantly the soil
produces in Washington. A sample
potato grown by Isaac Cathcart, of
Snohomish county, weighed 81 rounds
and was lll inches long and 5 inches
wide. A sample turnip grown by
Robert I. Flynn, of Kitsap county, was
80 inches in circumference, and
weighed 90 pounds. Strawberries over
7 inches in circumference are not at all
uncommon. From his crop of 1891,
w. ii. Carter, of Montesano, picked
one gallon made up of seventy.nine
berries. The largest was inches in
circumference and the smallest 4
inches. Fourteen of them weighed a
pound. Mr.. Hoskinson, in his article
on the climate of Western Washington,
mentions one yield of forty-two bushels
from the one-eleventh part of an acre.
This has probably been repeated in
many instances. Mr.. Sorenson, of
Maiden Bower bay, on Lake Washing
ton, gives the cost of strawberries as
ten cents per gallon, of which four
cents is for picking and two cents
freighting to the Seattle market. He
has sold his product for an average of
fifty cents per gallon. Other small
fruits produce in like abundance, and
with like profit to the grower. Frank
X. Spinning, of Sumner, from 20 acres
in 1890 sold $50 tons OF onions, from
ten-acre tract, for s12 600; 81, 800 worth