Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1901-06-10
SANTA PE FRUIT
The Crop for This Year Will Not be as Big
as Last Year as Far as Apples, Plums,
and Cherries Are Concerned.
A LARGE PEACH CROP Is PROMISED

The New Mexican is in receipt of the
following synopsis Of fruit prospects IN
Santa Fe valley for this fall from the
pen of F. Wielandy, successful fruit
grower of the valley:
Il incIose a short synopsis of our
prospects for fruit during the present
season. The year which began under
auspicious condition will, unless all
appearances belle, bring us only me-
dunn crop rather under the average,
except peaches, of which there will be
an abundance.
Besides our various insect and bird
enemies to fruit, such as the House
Finch (Mexican Carnicero) the tent
caterpillar, Goblin moth, peach twig
borer, pear tree slug and all of which
insects are presents of modern civiliza-
ton to New Mexico, for they were un-
known here before the annexation of
the territory by the United States
have to record a new little winged thief
and robber, viz: the bird commonly
termed in America, the English spar
row. Whence these little rascals came
| cannot say, not knowing, but / saw
a dozen or SO of them last summer for
the first time in Santa Fe and this
spring they have been vigorously and
industriously occupied in multiplying
their race, and scores of them can be
seen and heard chirping and twitter-
ing on the caves of the houses or in the
trees of the plaza. They have come to
stay.
SANTA FE FRUIT FOR 1901.
"In fruit culture, representations
based upon early indications, made at
the time blooming progresses, are not
always borne out by the later results.
The following estimates are intended
for this years crops, and apply to the
Santa Fe valley only. 1t will be seen
from them that the popular belief that
early fruit, or more properly stating it,
early blooming fruit sorts, are the
kinds suffering the most from late
frosts in spring; often proves a mista
ken conception. In time Of blooming,
apricots and almonds come first.
"Apricots, in Santa Fe, which were
announced as all killed by late frosts
which occurred in April, are by no
means total failure. While in places,
trees show little or no fruit, in some
parts of town, as for instance on the
writer's place, every tree was over
loaded after blooming was over and
the fruit had to be severely thinned
out on some little trees, three and two
years old, even. two-thirds of the young
apricots had to be pulled off, where
they were hanging on the branches in
punches as thick as grapes; the young
apricots, at this writing are as big as
nuts. Peaches, come next to apricots
in order of blooming. 1t was also an
nounced that early peaches had been
killed by the late frosts. Every peach
tree examined by the writer in Santa
Fe, except, perhaps, those planted in
the creek bottom, is loaded with fruit,
and early varieties in the writer's or
chard are particularly surcharged with
fruit. OF all fruits the peach will bear
the largest crop in Santa Fe this year.
"The pear, which blooms next. will
bear under an average crop this sea-
son, due to the excessive crop it bore
last year.
"The plum will like the pear, bear
quite lightly.
THE cherry comes next in the time
of it's blooming. The sweet sorts, or
Bigarreau and Heart cherries
bloomed abundantly, but the fruit fall
ed to set, and there are very few of
them left on the trees. The Duke va
rieties, will, with some trees have fair
medium crops, and the Morello's or
sour cherries, which are the hardest
Inong cherries, are, as almost always
we'll loaded with fruit.
"The apple, latest in blooming (ex-
cept the quince) among all our fruits
and reputed, universally, to be. the har-
diest, will make a very poor showing
in Santa Fe this year, owing to the
fact that most apple trees were over
loaded last year. There is no differ
ence in this respect between early
summer and late winter apples. This
is emphatically, what Is termed, IAN off
year and the apple crop for 1901, will