The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-02

known to everybody about the stats. that he no longer attracts attention.
 
 MT. Swink Is the richest farmer in all this country, and deserves all the good l fortune that can come to him, for 1t IS | due to his enterprise, industry anu | practical common sense that the DIS l fruit belt in Colorado has been devel- oped. He came out here in prairle schooner, in the early sixties, with his family from the village of Nashville, near Galesburg, III. and took up piece | of land, where he pastured cattle and | did a little dry farming. When the Santa Fe Railroad came through this way, he allowed the engineers to locate a water tank upon his farm. and agreed to attend to 1t, provideu they would let him have the overflow for irrigation. And with that limited supply of water | he made the finest garden and the finest 1 orchard and raised the best vegetables 1 and fruit that had ever been known Tn this part of the world. His farm prov cd to be a great advertisement ard his methods were initiated by other farmers who located in this neighoor- hood.
 Seventeen years ago this month 1t oc- cured to him that it would be good | idea to advertise the resouces ana ad l yantages of the country by inviting all | the world to a free melon feast, anu accordingly the advertisement was published far and wide. It is busy | time of the year. Such fool thing as giving away melons to strangers l had never been heard of, and the peo- ple suspected that somebody was up to a trick hence only fifty or sixty had | the courage to take the risk and go to l Rock Ford; but the scheme was great success and when the invitation was repeated the next year there was | a crowd of 500 strangers in town that day, many of them coming from fifty or sixty miles, and not only stuffed themselves with melons, but were l given free of cost, as many as they could carry home. And so the melon feast at Rocky Ford gradually became a State holiday and everybody who can command the time and the facilities for travel comes here and makes himself sick eating watermelons and can teloupes on the 9th of every Septem- Der.
 Last year there were more than 10,- 900 strangers in town; this year 12,- 900. The Sante Fe Railroad brought in six extra trains in addition to the regulars with 3,752 excursionists. The | farthest came a distance of 125 miles, l while the remainder of the visitors | came in their own conveyances, wagons carriages and buggies. There were a good many automobiles, and thousands on horseback. Four races were rep resented-white, colored, Japanese and Chinese. There are good many Japa- nese in this part of the country. People are accustomed to drive sixty and seventy-five miles across the country on these occasions.
 Rocky Ford Is a pretty little town with shaded streets, and comfortable cottages. It looks more like New Eng land or New York State than the wild, l woody West" and the population of 2.000J or 2,5OO includes many college men and other cultivated people. as you can judge by the book stores.
 It Is surrounded by prosperous farming and fruit growing community. and doubt whether any similar num- Der of farmers in any part of the world receive a larger return for their capi- tai and labor than is derived from fruit melons and beet sugar down here in the Arkansas valley. You never saw such orchards in your life anywhere else; such apples, plums. cherries and other fruits. We drove through an or- chard of eight acres this morning in which the owner has been compelled to use more than 2.4O0 props to support the heavy laden limbs. And his is not an unusual experience.
 There has been a great improvement in the financial condition of 1he farm ing population within the last few years, as is indicated by the appear- ances of the horses and vehicles at Rocky Ford. Formerly their wives and children were glad to come to town in a lumber wagon or on a hay rick This year the grounds are crowded with surreys and other carriages and runa- bouts. There was an auction sale of carriages during the day Every farmer has a telephone in his house, which costs him only $2.50 a month, and over the wire orders his groceries and supplies, which are deliveree daily at his door You meet grocery wagons on every highway driving about with loads of packages. and rural delivery carriers leave daily newspaper at every doorstep, which was not possible five years ago.
 Of recent years the county fair has been held at Rocky Ford on melon week. and it Is now in progress. The exhibition buildings are filled with dis plays Of fruits and vegetables that would open the eye of a New Eng land farmer doubt if he would be- heve the tales might tell of the ap- pies and pears peaches. plums and oth- CT fruits and the enormous quans,ties that are growing on single acres. and the yield of vegetables is quite as great - and ou1tA as proAtahlA- You can aAA