Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1905-03-03
MODEL ORCHARD NEAR
WINCHESTER
WIN be DEVOTED Almost Entirely to Ap-
pies Under Supervision Of
U S. Government

& The Department or Agriculture h,
n taken action, which can only be con
Il trued to mean that in Virginia ther
Is section which is, in the opinion {
4 the department experts, better adap
ed to the growth, of fruit. especiall
apples, than Is any other in the Unite
States. The department has just cor
cluded an arrangement with Hon. 6
L. Lupton through which an expert
mental commercial orchard will b
established on his farm, In Fredericl
county, near Winchester, and whicl
will be made the model orchard Of thu
United States The agreement is in
definite as to duration, and, from tn.
nature of che case, will run for NAM
years. The proceeds OF the orchard
which is to EN- brace forty acres, viii
go to Mr.. Lupson, and the department
will aid him in selling the fruit. The
arrangement may be advantageous te
Mr. Luptondirectly, and it 10 certain
to be of immense advantage to the
fruit growers of that section of coun.
try extending from Hagerstown to the
North Carolina line, which the promo.
logists of the Department of Agricul-
ture pronounce the finest fruit country
| 10 America.
DEVOTED TO APPLES.
The orchard which will be planted
on Mr.. Lupton's farm by the depart
ment will embrace forty acres. 1t
will be devoted to apples almost en-
tirely. The varieties which will be
planted are the Ben Davis, York I'm
perial, Grimes's Golden. Jonathan,
Sfayman and the Wealthy, all winter
varieties, with the exception OF the
last named. There will be few AL
oemarle Pippins planted, though
Frederick is not within what is known
as the pippin belt.
Nobody knows more than approx
mately the cost of bringing an orchard
to bearing" said Mr.. Lupton, re-
Gently. Fruit growers haye al
ways guessed at the cost, but We are
going to learn the actual cost from the
time the trees are purchased for plant.
ing until they come into bearing. In
this way we will be able to estimate
accurately the profits there are in
fruit growing. l have had long exper-
lence in fruit raising, and claim to
understand it pretty well, but l am to
follow the cultural directions of the
department in the management Of the
orchard in bringing it to maturity, and
in gathering and packing the frnit"
And then Mr.. Lupton went into a
learned discussion of nurse and cover
crops, and the best OF each kind. It
seems that there considerable diver
sity of opinion as to the best nurse
crops, that is, the crops which may be
grown in an orchard while the orchard
Is coming to naturally, such as corn,
wheat, etc. A cover crop is one which
ls desired merely for the purpose of
covering the ground, such as peas.
ETC.
Il am just returning from a session
of the Pathological Society Of Connec-
tlcut, at Hartford, said Mr.. Lupton.
II was invited to appear before the
society and speak on fruit packing. ri
am convinced we are a long ways
ahead of Connecticut growers in fruit
raising. especially in packing it for
market. We have a much hetter coun-
try in which to raise fruit. | agsee
with those who say that the section
from which l come, the Valley of Vir-
ginia, is the best in the United States
Tor the growth of apples, especially"
GREAT INDUSTRY.
The fruit growing industry of the
Valley of Virginia, especially of the
country contiguous to Winchester, is
OF enormous proportions at present,
and Mr.. Lupton said that the
orchards now planted gave guarantee
that the yield would increase at the
rate Of 100. 900 barrels every two years
for the next ten years. The hotels and
the banks of Winchester and perhaps
of other towns in the Valley of Vir.
GINA, take an active, and, possibly,
unique interest in securing markets
for the fruit grown in that section.
The growers register ia book kept at
the hotels of the town. giving the
name. the location of the farm and the
variety and quantity of apples for sale.
This book is for tho use of the apple
buyer. who comes to the hotel and finds
his apple crop before his eyes, as it
| were. As crop is sold the fact 10 90
indicated on the ''apple book" at the
hotel.
Mr.. Lupton's g father planted the first
commercial orchard in the Valley of
Virginia. This was in 1875. He set
fortylacres in Albemarle Pippins, and
his neighbors mourned for him as a
man who had lost his mind. But in
] 1886. when his apple crop yielded him
=. So 200, they were disposed to think
John Lupton was not SO crazy after all.
There is great future for the Val
ley of Virginia as fruit growing sec
tion. Men now living will see the day
when it will be known throughout this
country as the fruit section of Amer
lea, and the action of the department
in locating a model orchard in Fred
the day.
| Strikes Hidden Rocks.