Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-07-19
MOUNTAIN HOMES
TWO SHOW PLACES
Attorney hOwie's Orchard
and Chris MiIIer's Gar
den are Knock out
Drops for SkeptiCs.

w. c. Howie's orchard and Chris
Miller's vegetable garden ought to
be the show places to which every
prospective settler who comes to
Mountain Home should be given an
opportunity of visiting. They will
convince any skpetic that the soil
hereabouts is as fertile as any that
lays out OF doors; that the climate
is such that the widest possible va
riety of fruits, berries, vegetables,
grasses and grains can be raised
here in luxurious profusion.
Everywhere around town one can
sec growing fruits and vegetables,
that present more OF less cnticing
picture, varying with the care be-
slowed thereon, but at the two
places named they approach so near
perfection that even the chronic
. pessimist, the constitutional knocker
Z are siieneed.
Chris Miller is democrat, sir,
from Louisville, Kentucky, where
they raise democrats and he'll prin-
oipally, but somehow, there it was
Mr.. Miller learned to raise stuff
that is good to eat, and what he
doesn't know about gardening
wouldn't crowd paper with six
patent pages. He owns about
ten acres adjoining town; is enga-
ged in truck gardening as BUSH
ness and he ''gets the money. F"
Everything you ever saw grow in a
garden is there and Is flourishing ;
sells everything he produces right
here at home for good prices and
can't supply the demand. He also
has about four acres in hay, and
last year, besides feeding his own
horse he sold his surplus for $240,
which means that his income for
hay land is better than 500 an acre.
OF course, Attorney Howie's or
chard is merely his hobby, but unlike
most professional men who indulge
in that kind of luxury, he makes
his profitable. He was raised on {
farm down in Iowa, and just natu'
rally imbibed some information
about horticulture. He says, how
ever, that during the twelve year:
that he has been amusing himsel
with his fruit trees, he has discoy
cred that there is much to lear
about the business in a scientifi
way that il attains to the dignity o
a profession.
Mr.. Howie has fenced in aroun
his home an acre and half, a
acre and a quarter OF which
planted to trees, shrubs and vines
In this small area are 20 differer
kinds of fruit and 100 varieties
including grapes, raspberries
strawberries, apples, pears, peache:
and almonds. On one tree +
has grated fifteen different varit
ties of pit fruit, peaches, piurn'
apricots, cherries and so forti
From this acre and a quarter
ground he will realize this yea
net, above all expenses, 5000.
Mr.. Howie says he is now sci
ing fruit regularly to a prominei
citizen who insists that this
not fruit country. When his a
tcntion was called to the fact tn
his own eyes sec proof to the col
tfary of that statement, he remarl
ed: ''Oh, but you nurse your trees.
To this Mr.. Howie retorted: g
twelve years have lost but OF
crop; then killing frost came u
expectedly in June. This year
have 'nursed' these trees only
few hours during two night
keeping the smudges burning"
His orchard was irriagted, Wi
the exception of two years, fro
his we'll. The first two years aft
it was planted he didn't even ha
windmill and pumped the wal
by hand. The two years VIII
watered from the irrigation syst,
was long after the trees were n
ture and bearing fruit; so it can
stated accurately that it "
brought up on we'll water