The Anaconda standard., 1899-12-17
A GOOD LESSON,
Fruite Profit BY Last Winters
Experience


Hamilton, Dec. 16-The Bitter Root
valley has had most unprecedented
experience in the development OF the
fruitgrowing industry within It's CON
fines From the very beginning OF the
early experiments in the way OF falslEs
fruit here until last winter there had
been no setback and no encouragement.
Things had gone ahead smoothly and
without any loss of trees or crops. other
fruitgrowing districts had suffered re-
verses. but the Bitter Root orchards
hourished apace and multiplied IN eX-
tent and in the number OF thelr trees.
1t was thought that the equable tenn
perature of this favored valley would
prove a safe barrier against any gen
eral destruction of trees by cold or
other cause and the orchardists believed
that they had found the ideal spot for
fruit culture. Experts from other sec
tions, who visited the valley, shook
their heads and gave warning that one
day or another the Bitter Root valley
would share the experience of Older dis
tricts and that there would come Win
ter that would blast the trees by the
thousand. Still that prophesied winter
| did not come and the orchards forged
| ahead.
| Last winter, however, it came. There
| had never before in the memory of the
Oldest settler been such a storm as
| swept over the valley in February, fol-
| lowed by a low tempera ture that was
| unprecedented. The result was, in
| measure, what had been predicted by
| those who had passed through similar
experiences in old communities There
| was a considerable loss of trees and
| the fruit buds were damaged to a
greater or less extent in some parts of
| the valley. Other sections escaped with
hardly any loss, either of trees or fruit.
| Still, the loss of trees was not as eX-
| tensiye as had occurred in other places
under similar circumstances and the
fruit crop this fall, while below the ave-
rage, has not shown anywhere near the
falling off from the average that was
| anticipated early in the season.
At one time last spring there were
some of the fruitgrowers who We're
| much discouraged. The experience was
| a new one to them ana they did not
| know what it meant. The wiser ones,
| however, counseled prudence and con-
servative action and the results of the
season have shown that their position
| was we'll taken-that the experience of
the winter was not as disastrous as had
| been anticipated and that it really fur
! niShed a valuable lesson to those who
are planning and laying out orchards.
From observation of the effects of the
unusually severe cold it can be learned
what varieties of fruit are best adapted
to the climate of the valley and the
loss of trees that was sustained last
winter will probably never be repeated
again. 1t may be that there will never
be another winter of the severity of the
last That is not improbable. But the
trees that passed safely through The
storms and cold of last season will
thrive through any future developments
that the weather clerk may bring about
Thus it is that the fruitgrowers fine
comfort in the loss of last year. mac
the unusual cold been delayed for two
or three years the results would have
been much more serious. The delcatf
varieties of trees would undoubtedly
have suffered as much and the loss
in dollars and cents would have beer
much greater, as the trees would have
been larger and much more time would
have been required to replace them
There is nothing discouraging in the
situation and the outlook for the fu
ture of the orchard business is brighter
than ever. Florida has, in some years
lost nearly all of her orange groves
Washington and Oregon have seer
whole orchards destroyed by winter
blasts. The experience of the Bitter
Root is not without precedent and i
! may be used to advantage if the farm
ers will consider carefully the lessor
: that it teaches and govern their future
| actions thereby.