The Mena weekly star., 1907-09-19
Facts and Figures.

ana ngureS count. Before me cn my desk lies an object that makes me figure and will you dear reader, if you will allow me to state a few facts for your consideration. The object-you have often seen, per- haps even grown such on your own trees-is Kiefer pear, a good large and healthy one, free from all blight in company of several bushels of like companions grown, not some where, anywhere, but right here and and strange to say right in the sticks and stones in uncultivated native soil.
 About years ago Mir. George Sunderman, who lives in the west part of our city, planted number of pear trees in this manner: Right where the soil on his 20-acre tract is least cultivatible and most stony and where only the heavy timber has been cut away, right there among the sticks and stones, the brush and and grass, he dug his pits for the pear trees and that's all. Never did a blow run over that ground before planting, nor pick or hoe get near them afterwards. Those trees were planted and that is all that ever was done to or for them. And yet pears, pears loaded down the branches in such abundance this year, that two- thirds had to be taken off before fully maturing, so as to save the branches from breaking. And mind good solid, sound, healthy pears they were; no spraying was done and yet none were blighted. Now those are the facts Do they make you figure? Not yet? We'll permit me to assist you in the start and then I am confident you will figure on and arrive at surprising results.
 Let's surmise, you own one acre and if even in the sticks and stones, yes, as yet full of heavy timber. You cut this timber off for wood and sell it for $1.50 per load. How many loads-how much money that one acre will bring, you can figure it for yourself. When it is away, don't mind the stumps, nor stones, nor remaining grass and sticks, leave them there, just dig the holes, set your pear trees and let them take care of themselves. The sticks and stones retard their growth; that's true. But that is just what your pear trees need here to keep them from growing too fast. And it ap- pears that those conditions also keep the fruit from blight.
 How many trees can you set out on an acre? How many bushels of pears will they produce? How much money can you thus receive from the yield of one acre.? Figure it outl Does it beat corn or cotton, that require much hard work, while this asks for comparatively no work? Then multiply by 5 or 10 or more at liberty according to how many acres you own and want to set in pear trees. But what to do with all those pears? Why, dear reader, all the way down the line from here to De Queen, carloads of peaches, which perish so easily Tn shipping ,.were sent North this year, while Mena well, let's own up. shipped-can you tell me the figures? The writer was asked by officials of the railread: How many carloads of peaches is Mena going to ship, and had to ans wer: I don't know. Do you know ?
 Now pears are, as you know, not so perishable as peaches yet stand shipping well and will bring good prices in Kansas City. Do you think you would have too many pears for shipping. The trouble here is as yet that there are not enough grown for shipping. It is an acknowledged fact that the life of a town is usually good surround ing farming community. Now while we may not have a farming community in the sense and quality of some other localities, yet we have the very best next thing to it or perhaps superior to it on account of less hard work required, a No. l Fruit Country.
 Let's wake up from trying to make ourselves believe that it must be corn, oats, wheat, rye or cotton and the like to have on our farms. Let us develop what we really have and then it will matter not whether a railroad hospital is built, though its going to be and we appreciate it as very good thing, or rival town seeks to scare us with mainline L. IT. 4 t