Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-10-07

to the west, / have often thought
that would give the Maverick the
benefit Of some of my observations
upon few of the irrigated projects
which ! visited on my trip.
We. who have interested oursel-
yes in the land about Mountain Home
have often wondered whether or not
our conditions there are favorable
for pears and peaches. We have had
no doubt at all about our being able
to raise winter apples. Comparison
will aid us in settling this question
for ourselves. Wenatchee is the best
advertised, and probably, in fact is,
one of the best fruit points of the
west. 1t may be encouraging to note
even with their most favorable con-
ditions they have suffered a reverse
this year in their peach crop, hav-
ing had a very cold winter and
backward spring. The thermom-
eter there reached fifteen degrees be-
low zero, and the temperature stood
at that point for three weeks. This
was a colder temperature than has
been reached. so l am informed, at
Mountain Home for many years.
The altitude at Wenatchee is a.
bout 500 feet above sea level; Noun
tain Home about 5000 feet, and yet
Wenatchee experiences a much cold
er winter, and suffers more from
late frosts this year than does Noun
tain Home. This would seem to
show that the altitude of a place does
not determine absolutely its desira-
bility for fruit culture. While at
Wenatchee / made a very thorough
and careful examination of their or
chards. and found that their peach
crop has been badly injured this year,
and the apple crop will not exceed
forty or fifty per cent of the usual
output. l believe that the conditions
around Mountain Home make a bet
ter showing than that this year.
say this not to disparage Wenatcbee,
which has some undisputed advan-
tages as a fruit center, but merely to
show that Mountain Home may keep
pace with, and even surpass that not
ed and well advertised place, and
that our conditions rival if they do
not excel theirs for fruit culture in
general.
I gained inspiration also from my
visit to Grand Junction, Colorado. l
had heard much of Grand Junction
and it's wonderful ranches, and on my
way home determined to pay visit
to that place and learn for myself
conditions there. The altitude of
Grand Junction is about $500 feet,
and yet there is an area Of nearly
1900 square miles. more than half Of
which is devoted to the raising of
all kinds of fruit. find that at this
higher altitude they have fine crop
this year of all kinds of fruit which
grow there, including peaches, pears.
apples, cherries, etc. In fact, much
better crop than will be grown in
Wenatchee this year. When we con
slider the difference in altitude, near
ly 1000 feet between the two places,
we cannot help but predict that with
our altitude of 5000 feet we ought to
stand more than an even chance of
eQualing or excelling either 1t is
true that Grand Junction attributes
its fine crop this year to the fact that
they resorted to smudging the or
chards during a few cold nights last
spring. I understand from the best
fruit growers there. that they smudg-
ed three times this year at cost of
something over SIS per acre. which
was a small item as compared with
the benefits obtained. What can be
done at Grand Junction can be done
at Mountain Home, or at any other
point if trouble should be experien-
ced with late frosts If the temper
ature of an orchard can be changed
from five to ten degrees by smudging
at Grand Junction at an altitude of
5000 feet, certainly if we have TO, we
can employ the same means at Noun
tain Home, and obtain the same or
even better results upon our lower
level
In my Judgment. we have one of
the best points in the west for the
culture not only Of apples. but peach
es and pears and every other kind Of
fruit grown in the country What
Grand Junction and Wenatchee has
which we have not is reputation
which they have been several years
in building up Another thing which
they have and which is essential is /
a large acroaoo of fruff cuHioionf 10