The daily sentinel., 1908-02-11

The first orchards in Colorado
planted at Canon City about 40 years
ago. Many of these apple trees are
bearing to this day and really no
decrease in either quantity or quality
was noticeable about five years ago.
We have peach orchards nearly 25
years cid and still bearing heavily
In other recognized fruit localities of
the country, peach trees attaining
thirds of the time, are considered
profitable.
There will always be market for
the best fruit. The demand is linn
tied only by the supply. Eastern
people upon visiting the best fruit
growing sections of the state, are sur
prised to find bearing orchards sell
ing readily at from 81 900 to $4,000
per acre-land that less than 10
years ago sold for less than $50 per
acre, but upon inquiry they find the
fruit netting from $3.50 to $500 per
acre. 1t is said that there are more
men in the vicinity of Palisade, COLI
rado, who went there from five to
eight years ago with nothing and to-
day ore worth from 100000 to $751;
900, that can be found in many
thousands of miles # travel up and
chard of ten acres located close to
Grand Junction, that has netted it's
owner in excess of $4,000 annually
for the last IL years. Many orchards
in Delta county, and especially along
the North Fork of the Gunnison,
have been among the most profitable
in our state for long number of
years. Trees were brought in by
means of burros and planted as an
experiment. That was the beginning
of fruit growing in a section where
today the output of the orchards an
nually runs into the hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
In Montrose county some of the
largest and most thrifty orchards of
the state are to be found, and with
the completion of the Gunnison tun-
mel pr ject, by which 150, 900 acres
of additional land will come under
irrigation in Montrose and Delta
counties, many thousands of acres
will be planted to fruit trees. The
same will be true of the Garfield
government land in Mesa county, and
in MonteZuma county large addi-
tional areas of fruit land will be put
under cultivation during the next
year. But with all this the demand
of the future for Colorado fruit will
outdistance by far the supply. Colo
RADIO quality Is an established factor
to be reckoned with, and one that
need not fear competition. AS long
as our fruit growers are as well or
ganized, so that the selection of trees
and fruit for shipment is as carefully
done rs at present, we may expect
our fruit to withstand successfully
all competition. Colorado apples,
t,1Yr nd nrt rrn
find an ever increasing market at
home, and Colorado apples find favor
in foreign lands.
Fruits are very successfully grown
in the Arkansas valley and in Boul-
der and other counties in northern
Colorado. Small fruits of all kinds
do exceptionally we'll in these local
tiles. Canon City and Boulder are
noted for the fine Strawberries pro-
duced, and more raspberries are ship
ped from Loveland than any other
point in the United States.
]. A. Van Meter, one of the leading
promologists in the employ of the
government, after visiting all the
fruit growing sections of the coun-
try, said that he had never found
place where fruit culture was more
successfully or more profitably en-
gagged in than in the mountain val
leys of Colorado. He said further
more. that amy young man could
secure competency for life by get
ting a ten-acre piece of fruit land
here and developing commercial or
chard.
could give hundreds of instances
where five and ten-acre orchards an
nually return greater profits than
farms from 160 to 800 acres in the
best portions of the Middle West.