The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-05-14
AS A FRUIT COUNTRY!
The Black Hills Naturally Adapt
ed to the Production Of
Varied Fruits.
DONE WITHOUT IRRIGATION.
A Practical Demonstration of
What Can Be Done on Dry
Land Without Irrigation.

What Can Be Done on Dry
Land Without Irrigation.
The hundreds of dry ranches
throughout western South Dakota,
dotted here and there by cabins now
deserted and falling into decay, tell
u story Of failure for this section as
farming country where the natural
rainfall is depended upon as the one
thing needful in the growing and
maturity of crops. Ranches, with
their deserted cabins, give a most
desolate aspect to the appearance of
things in general, impress the visitor
with the idea that the country is
worthless outside of it's mineral
bearing regions, and acts as factor
to discourage the immigration Of
new settlers and the consequent
building up Of new enterprises
among our own people. But this
condition has only been brought
about by an attempt to utilize our
arid lands for some purpose for
which they were in no way adapted.
Failure is the only result that can
come from such a policy, and because
of this failure hundreds of settlers
who came here With the intention of
making. western South Dakota their
home have, af' er an unfrui tfu season
or two, moved away again, cursing
this country as they Travelled on in
search of greener pastures. The
fault lay with the settlers and not
with the country. They sought to
force it to produce what nature had
not adapted it to, failure came, and
they, blinded to their own folly,
cursed the country for their failure
This paper has since it's first num-
Der insisted that in irrigation alone
lay the agricultural redemption of
this section Of South Oak ota, and it
still main ntains that position, but
what Of the high and dry lands
where irrigation is next to an i'm
possibility? Are they of any value?
Can they be utilized and made to
produce an abundant crop of any
thing without the aid of irrigation?
These are the questions that force
themselves upon the people of this
region for solution.
We e,nphatically assume the posi-
tion that the dry and now deserted
ranches which stand as a monumen t
to agricultural failure and discour-
agemert can be made to produce
abundant and profitable crops, and
that, too, without the aid of any
thing in the moisture line aside from
the meager rainfall of this section.
This has been practically demon
strated for years, and yet our peo-
pie are slow to see it and adopt
methods which to them would mean
SO much. When we say that the
fact has been demonstrated that
this section is adapted to some
things, even in its natural state, we
NOulu GILL tUUtuUlOll 70 Tue nursery
and fruit farm of G. Thomson on
Box Elder north Of Rapid City. BY
experience he has learned what va
rieties are best suited to this climate
and soil. This accomplished, his
efforts have been crowned with sue
cess for twelve long years, through
wet and dry seasons alike, fully es-
tablishing the fact that products
adapted by nature to our soil and
climate can be prohtably and abun-
dainty produced. Apples, plums,
gooseberries, straw berries, cherries
pears, peach IS, prunes and nearly
every other line of fruits flourish
here, and all without the aid of or
the least effort in the line of irriga-
ton. Box Elder creek, on which
Mr.. Thomson nursery is located,
has not run a drop of water for the
past two years, and that gentleman
could not have irrigated had he de-
sired to do so. His entire holding
is high and dry. and yet his fruit