The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1908-02-26


do this around Roswell, or Dexter.
or Hagerman, or in any part of Gods
good country located away up here
in the sunshine, $500 feet towards
heaven.
But how about the other staple
fruits? Take PLUMS, or what is the
same thing, call most of then prunes
We cant talk much about acre re-
suits here now. That % degrees below
zero business three years ago yester-
day morning, laid us out, just as our
trees were beginning to bear. So we
have few trees left in healthy condi-
ton. But this was without precedent.
and need never be expected again.
would plant plums-mostly prunes-
again if l had the land, and expect
to get as good crops as California, or
Oregon, or Idaho, or Western Colora-
do, which is a yield of about 20Ofb
TO the tree. And l would have 200
trees to the acre, and l would expect
to net about four cents pound here,
in car lots, from Chicago and other
about two cars to the acre when in
full bearing. Why expect such large
crops? Because other people get
them, in the states / have just nam
ed-states not half as good to live in
as this blessed New Mexico isl mean
WILL BE. Crops of plums run
about 200fb to the full grown tree
They have sometimes averaged 500fh
to the tree, for small lots of trees.
And the crops are pretty sure here.
when we leave out such February
freezes as we had in 1905. But what
is the acre of plums worth? At 10000
pounds to crop, netting four cents a
pound, the yield is enough to make
all prices ever set on land by our
modest Roswell real estate men seem
very small.
And how about the value of an
acre of PEARS? The greatest e1thu,
siasm of my business life has been
about pears And l believe them to
be. for the right man, or woman, to
grow, the very noblest and most
profitable fruit to plant in this valley |
And THIS VALLEY IS THE BEST
PLACE in the whole realm of horti /,
cultural industry, in which pears can
be grown. | say this after much in
vestigation. We have read some very
fascinating stories about the prices
their pears sold for, from various
states which proclaim the good
things they do But however good /
the facts are for California, Oregon. |
DO BETTER AROUND ROSWELL
don't mean we can get better prices. !
but we can grow better pears. For /
we have the best climate and soil to
do it in. And we have the fewest diff |
ficulties to overcome. We are to be- |
come a great pear growing country, |
if the favorable conditions we now
have shall continue. We must have
many. many acres of pears. Up to
this date we have so few. | don't
know of any one who has as much as
one acre of bearing pear orchard, be |
yond my own. Pear growing is on
the decline in America-not counting
the Kieffer-because of blight, most
ly-while the demand constantly in
creases. and the price goes higher.
Now why not plant an acre of pears ?
The value of it depends on several
things. But mainly on good manage
ment and good varieties. 1t is folly
to plant poor kinds. With the best
varieties of pears records of money
profit have been made during the last
few years, surprising all other report
ed fruit profits. in any country or
time This has been done in Oregon
and Washington with new French
variety. the Comice, which is not
planted here at all, and which l have
never seen. 1t is not named in the
standard fruit catalogues. How or
when they got it in Oregon so as to
ship solid cars of it l don't know. But
two or more growers have shipped
carloads of it from Oregon that have
sold for over S3,400 per car in New
York l do not know whether the
cars were the standard ten ton cars.
or twelve ton cars. But the price
must have been from fifteen to eight
cen cents a pound. for carloads at
auction OF course this variety must
be surprisingly handsome. and of
fine quality. 1t is also late pear,
which insures fine prices for an at
tractive pear. But we may not be
able to grow it here, because 1t may
/ be an early bloomer.
have seen Oregon and Washington
pears of the common varieties IN the
Chicago market, and compared them