The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1893-11-16
ORCHARDS FOR FIREWOOD
Judge Benson Has Made an interesting
Comparison In Our Favor.
GREAT ORCHARDS USED FOR WOOD
Broad Acres Covered by Apple Trees
That Don's Pay the Rent-Grow.
Ing Worse Every Year-How Glad
Our Orchardists Ought TO Be.

EDITOR YAKIMA HERALD Since it is
by comparison that we appreciate and
understand most things, it strikes me
that our people in Yakima county may
think more Of their homes il little COM
parison is made with some eastern fruit
raising districts.
During August l had the pleasure of
visiting one Of the choicest and most re-
nowned fruit districts in New York
state. refer to Niagara county-around
Lewiston, down the Niagara river to Lake
Ontario and that vicinity. The gentle
man who showed me around was we'll
educated business man and farmer born
and raised in that district In fact his
grandfather settled on the place in 1904,
and his father lived and died on the
place and left it to his children. This
man "a. F. Millar) buys and ships about
10000 barrels Of apples yearly and he
knows everybody who raises an apple for
sale within fifty miles and one can readily
believe that there ism better-judge OF
the fruit business, its profits, and GER
tainties or uncertainties, etc., in that
whole country.
Hence l give you here some Of his
statements substantially in his own
words, as 1 took them down on the spot.
Referring to part Of his orchard he said I:
"My orchard over there Of 500 Baldwin
trees, about 10 acres, is 20 years old; it
was planted and cultivated undsr my
own supervision aud is as good an orchard
as there is in the state. The first crop
was, three years ago, 600 barrels; two
years ago, 700 barrels. Last year 900
barrels. l should have probably had
1000 barrels last year If it hadn't been for
the excessive rainfall. But it is that il
one year after another"
As we walked around bis place and
examined other farms in the vicinity l
noticed good yield OF grapes, although
the fungus rendered many punches i'm
perfect; an immense crop Of ounces, and
fair crop of peas, especially the Keller
variety; Bartletts are scarce.
OF an adjoining neighbours place Mr..
Millar said: "This man set these trees
out 25 years ago. You see they have
been we'll cared for and it is fine orch
ard - Baldwins, Spys and Greetings.
There are 20 acres of as good land as
there is in New York state. The first 20
years he didn't get 800 barrels from it
and it hasn't yielded $4,000 barrels since
it was set out. 1 have bought all the
apples that ever grew on the place."
In this gentleman's opinion there are
10000 farmers in western New York state
who would get out OF that country If they
could. But they can't make enough
money on their farms to advertise them
even.
You may depend on it that l have
fired this information at a good many peo-
pile in Chicago during the past two
months. l don't refer to the people who
come seeking information about the state,
but to the Smart Aleck class, and there
are lots of them here who come around
to tell us what God-forsaken, worthless
place all the west is. 1t is lots of pleas
ure to do those people up quick enough
and rough enough to make them wish
they hadn't opened their mouths.
Another neighbor whose place joins
Mr.. Millar's had young orchard of
about 1000 trees that was somewhat
weedy. Mr.. M. said of it: "That man
couldn't get into his orchard to cultivate
it until the first of June this year, we had
such wet spring. Then it got so dry
and hard he couldn't cultivate it. That
is abont the way orchards run here in
this country"
One other example will probably be
sufficient. Among the large orchards we
visited one contained 225 acres and was
owned by Willard Hopkins. One humid
red acres of it was 20 yesrs-old-apple
trees. Mr.. Millar said: There won't
be five barrels in that whole 100 acres
this year. 1t didn't have an apple last
year and year before last had only 700
barrels"
We talked with many apple growers
and they all admitted that the best thing
man could do who had an apple orchard
in that country was to give it to some
one If he would cut it down. wish you
would publish few well authenticated
apple yields in Yakima county for say
two and three years past, for the sake Of
comparison and send me a few extra
copies Of the paper. 4. f. BENSON.
Worlds Fair, Oct. 6.