The Mena star., 1898-09-21
AN IDEAL FRUIT COUNTRY.

tner,lal traveller aud brother OF Col
John H. Cherry, az this city, was in
town last week and was all enthusiasm
tic talker On the possibilities OF Arkan-
sas He has been travelling for the
past seventeen years and has seen
great deal of this country. He has
now determined To settle in Arkansas
and 90 into the fruit growing bust
ness, after a years experiment
In mdvnnte OF the building OF the
Pittsburg Il Gulf railroad. Mr.. Cherry
purchased several tracts of land on
the proposed route, one OF which now
juts up against the new and rapidly
growing town OF mena On this he
has planted twelve acres of strawber
ries. halt as many in black berries, and
last season gathered the first crop
from the previous fall planting He
marketed i. 500 gallons Of blackerries
from one year old vines and made five
barrels OF wine from fruit rnsoid. His
straw berries were sold from Omaha to
Galveston at highly profitable figures
He is now SATISFIED that the locaiion
mid way between the gnif and Kansas
City, high mp y altitude DIS MEM is
with flnely adapted soil. il the idea
one for The proiitabe growth and
shipment Of Smnl frnits. Hesides. he
SAYS the pittsbirg & Gulf is liberal in
freight charg,-s and protects those
who become settlers and shippers n
the line
W hat MIR Cherry says can be relied
on and he proves 1t 10y putting in his
own money. Some who would like
to engage in a ike enterprise may find
The opportunity in Polk county they
have been seeking, and us Mena is one
of the best towns in the southwest
and still growing fast. itself offers in
duccmsnts as a market.
The foregoing from the Arkan
sas Gazette, of Little Rock, is
quite timely and TO the point.
Mr.. L. II. Cherry is fruitman
of varied experience having fol
lowed the business in Missouri
prior to coming to Mcna, and be.
like others, has become satisfied
that this is an ideal fruit country.
Mr.. Cherry's berries sent to Den
yer, Colo. last season brought
so cents crate moro than those
sent from the low lands of the Ar
kansas valleys. our altitude and
soil giving our berries higher
color and finer flavor.
Other growers ii this vicinity J.
met with equally favorable results
and as Il consequence numerous
tracts have been planted and full
ly 100 acres more will be set this
fall and next spring near Mena.
At Cove and Jansen, just south
of here on the railroad, over 100
acres have been planted in straw
berries that will come into full
fruitaoe next season so that it is
expected that they can be shipped
ont in car load lots, giving the
growers the advantage of cheap
rates.
We have found by actual test
that our berries ripen fully two
weeks earlier than they do in Sar-
coke, Mo-, the great strawberry
center, end ten days earlier than
at Sallisaw, TT. Smith and Van
Buren,, giving our growers the
cream of the market for early
berries, and there are no better
berries grown anywhere. An
other advantage our growers
have is that when the northern
markets are supplied from Sar-
coke and other points to the North
we can turn and ship South to
New Orleans, Galveston, Shreye-
port and other towns and get
good prices as the berry season in
that section Of country Is over by
this time.
What has been said of the
strawberry holds equally as good
with the blackberry, raspberry,
peach and early apple, and the
fact that this is an ideal fruit
country has already been demon
stratcd and all that is now needed
is for experienced growers like
Mr.. Cherry to come and take adj
vantage of the situation.
The building of the Pittsburg
4 Gulf road through this section
opened up to the markets of the
world an ideal fruit country, and
as Mr.. Cherry says. the road is
reasonable in its freight charges,
thus encouraging people to plant,
develop the country and make
.nnnau