The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1907-01-23
GROWING APPLES FOR PROFIT
Remarkable Story Of E. L. Stewart, Of Euclid

week K. l.. Stewart, one OF the best
posted fruit raisers in the Yakima
valley, read paper on the Planting.
Care and Marketing OF Apples" The
facts and figures shown were a reve-
lation to many. His experience be-
ing so practical and the results SO
successful the Herald believes its
readers will appreciate his remarks
in full, and herewith reproduces
them:
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentle
men of the Washington State Horti-
cultural Association:
have been asked by your honor
able secretary to give an account OF
my experience in the use Of dust
spray in combat with the Goblin
moth; also to preamble the subject
with a history of my six acre apple
orchard at Prosser in the Yakima
valley. l never had the advantages
of even a common school education.
all my opportunities in that line con-
sisting of three to six months term
of country school each winter until
l was sixteen years old, when l went
to work as telegraph operator and
agent. l followed that line of work
continuously for twenty-five years.
With this explanation l will ask you
to kindly overlook any defects of
language or composition you may
find in this paper.
In 1892, while working as agent
for the N. p. railway in eastern
Washington, and feeling that must
find some other means for making
living and providing a home and in
come for my family, for l we'll knew
it was only a question of a few years
when the railroad would be through
with me, l met a representative OF
the Washington Irrigation company,
who pictured the advantages of the
Yakima valley to me so well that ]
was induced to Ego and be shown
| remember very distinctly that my
first impression on taking a twenty
mile ride through the sage brush
was that l would consider that land
dear at Is cents an acre-a more
desolate country l had never seen.
This impression rapidly gave way to
very different one on being shown
few of the cultivated places in the
Zillah and Parker districts, also in
and around North Yakima, where
bearing apple orchards were valued
in that day at the seeming fabulous
price of 5000 to $500 per acre. In
hopes of some day being the owner
of a place of similar value, l bought
a small tract on the bank OF the
Yakima river about As miles east OF
North Yakima, and six miles west OF
Prosser. This land was bought from
the Washington Irrigation company
on a five year payment plan, and
cost, with water right, $55 per acre,
with a maintenance charge OF 81 per
acre per year.
l continued my work as agent and
hired the land fenced, cleared and
leveled. The leveling was expensive,
as the land was vry rough piece.
that part of the work costing me $50
per acre. With these expenses ana
meeting payments on the land was
not able to plant any trees until De-
cember, 1895, when we planted six
acres to Spitzenbergs and Red Cheek
Pippins, one-half Of each, in alter
nate rows, in the hopes that the pol
len Of each variety would be more
liable to be carried by bees and in
sects to the bloom Of the other va
riety by thus planting. as l had read
that some varieties of fruit were self
sterile and thought 1t was site
plan to assume that all varieties
might be more or less so. These
trees were planted % feet apart In
what is known as the circular form,
requiring 108 trees per acre.
For the first three years we grew
corn, potatoes, beans and garden
truck between the rows, and in cul-
tivating these crops we gave each
tree a good hoeing tire or four times
each season. Having quit railroad
work and moved onto the place. for
the next two years we gave the or
chard strictly clean cultivation, not
allowing anything to grow in 1t.
blowing deeply each spring. We
would go over 1t with harrows four
or five times between each watering,
of hich we gave 1t three during the
season.
Up to this time-five years-we
were very much annoyed by the wind
blowing our soil, which as very light
and loose. away from the trunk AMI
main roots of the trees, in many