The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-04-15

ceived many a letter in which the
writer stated that he had read al
that I had written and then he would
proceed to put questions to me fol
information | had already given
There seemed to be a feeling that the
information would be more reliable il
wrote it directly to the inquirer
rather than send it to him through the
paper I call to mind one letter which
contained twenty questions, every one
of which had been fully covered in my
articles, and yet the writer began his
letter by saying, II have read all your
articles in the Oracle, therefore I want
to ask the following questions"
While speaking on the letters that
frequently come to me, | wish to men,
ton a novelty that came to me just
the other day. 1t was written by a
young Hollander but three years from
Holland. He wanted a position in an
orchard, presumably as foreman, and
having seen my orchard work men.
toned in the Rural New-Yorker, he
wrote me for information. The letter
was addressed as follows: MIR Rev
F. Walden, Horticultural Editor OF
The Ranch, Washington" No post
office was given, and yet the letter
reached me- At first 1 felt puffed up
somewhat to think that a letter, all
the way from Newton Center, Mass
reached me without the name of my
postoffice being given! My! I thought
how we'll l am known in the United
States, and especially in the State of
1T. DID T bod hi
a little more about the matter my
pride slipped away and dropped back
into my accustomed obscurity I was
addressed as the Horticultural Editor
of The Ranch. That explained it
The Ranch is so we'll known by our
postoffice men that they sent it to
Seattle, the mail carrier dropped it on
my desk in The Ranch office. How
often it happens that when l think
1 am about to come into notoriety
something punctures the bladders on
which I am sailing and down I come
with dull thud.
recently mentioned the fact that
there is strong probability that Prof.
H. E. Van Deman, of Washington, D.
c., would be the judge of fruits at the
Alaska Yukon-Pacific Exposition to be
held in Seattle next year. A letter
just received from Van Deman in
forms me that the Fair officials have
invited him to fill this position, if suit
able arrangements can be made. He
says in his letter to me, $50 far as |
can now see, there will be nothing
seriously in the way of me serving
as I did at Portland, and I am so
writing Mr.. Dosch." This will, no
doubt, be good news to the fruit grow
ers of the Northwest. No local man,
however we'll qualified, could give the
satisfaction Van Deman can. If some
man in Washington should be ap-
pointed to that position, his awards,
however free from Partially, might
be objected to by the exhibitors of
neighboring states. Van Deman is
known to be absolutely impartial, and
l have good reason to know that the
whole Northwest feels that way about
him, and could hardly feel so, to the
same degree, about any man in the
Northwest
This letter from Van Deman tells
of his work in Louisiana, where he has
spent the past winter. 1t is well
known that he is at the head of a
company that is planting 1900 acres
to pecans and figs at Feriday, Louis
lana This is what he says about
what he is doing in the development
of the work there: 81 have just about
finished the spring work here. Have
planted only a moderate amount of
pecan and fig trees here this year, but
next time expect to plant about 500
acres of each. The big job l had this
year was the grating of $4,000 pecan
seedlings in our nursery. l got it done
in good time and in the very best man
A h.rI i.,r-