The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1907-01-11

Irrigation farming is as much Of
an Improvement over the old FASH
toned way of farming III the East
as the combined harvester is an i'm
provement over the cradle in the
cutting Of grain. 1t is just as diff
fcult to make the average Eastern
man understand the advantages; of
Irrigation as it was to first persuade
him to accept the improved farm
machinery which he could not now
do without.
When we tell him on his first
visit to Kennewick that the s,ge
brush land he Can buy for 500 per
acre, when properly handled, will
produc. 5000 per acre in grapes the
fourth year, $3.50 in Strawberries
the second year and 800 in peaches
the fourth year, he looks wise and
acts as if he was being handed a
gold brick. He sto' ps down and
takes a handful of the sand" as
he calls it, and says, con my farm
in Indiana l had acres cf this sand
i'll my lower creek bottom and i
would not grow beans"
We take him to a peach orchard
and show him three year-old tree.
from viii n the owner took seven
boxes of liberia peaches, some
measuring twelve inches in circum-
ference. He laughs outright, bu'
when the owner comes along and
veiifies the statement as to the age
OF the trees and the product, the
Eastern man looks puzzled; and
when the owner shows him the little
vine, ard and states in tie honest
tones of the farmer sure of himself
that, "From this vineyard of less
than two &C es l sold over 81, 500
worth of Tapes, the man from tn.
Eas d e> ~ome thinking
Finally he says, well, indee +,
h Sc cries seem to me pretty big. y
And as he goes from ranch 10 ranch
he hears he same st tements, ano
he is simply for ed TO believe
After such man is thoroly Gu
vlnced from obs rvation and the
testimony of reliable men, he be-
comes he most enthu ,ias;i, friend
OF irrig alton, and quickly settles
down to work on his land.
During the first two years of
Kennewick' existance in nearly all
cases the Kennewick people had to
say to the man from the East, 1--WE
a,e satlsiied-we know; but for on
to become convinced of the value
of irrigation you will have to 60 to
Yakima or Sunnyside where the
trees are old enough to bear"
This, now, is not necessary, as our
trees and vines are three years cd
and produce in marvellous way,
Irrigation is certainly an i'm
provement over the old style of
iarmi G in whatever country it is
practiced. but if there is one irriga-
ton section that has all the advan-
tages possessed by all other irri-
gated sections aud in addition sew
eral advantages which are possessed
by no other irrigated country, that
must ind ed be a favored SPOT.
The Kennewick valley is so pro-
tected by the surrounding hills and
the elevation is so low, being $50
feet above sea level, that spring
comes when other places are still in
the hands of winter. This gives
Kennewick a climate unequaled
anywhere in the great West; it
causes spring to come III this
valley one month earlier than
in any other part of the state. 1t
enables our farmers to market their
produce fully three weeks carrier
than the celebrated Yakima valley,
the Sunnyside and the Wenatchee.
We are four weeks earlier here
than the many irrigated tracts
a, ound Spokane. This early spring
enables our growers to receive from
IS. 90 TO $4,000 crate for straw
berries when Yakima and Sunny
side berries bring only an average
price of 81 90 per crate.