The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-10-07
NEW ENGLAND APPLE CULTURE.
Where the East Has An Advantage
Over the West-Some Helpful Sug-
naeAsaue

over the West-SOme Helpiul Sug-
g%estions.
A special feature of the August
bulletin of the Massachusetts board
of agriculture is an address on west
ern methods in New England or
c%harding, by Prof. F. G. Sears, head
of the department of pomology at
the Massachusetts Agricultural Col
lege, says the New England Home
stead. 1t is particularly timely that
this sketch apepars. 1t not only fits
the actual conditions but also is a
fine preliminary to the big New Eng
land apple show, which will be held
at Boston next month. New England
needs more enthusiastic orchard eX-
ponents as Prof. Sears. After re-
viewing conditions in the Western
orchards, which are more or less ia
miliar to readers, Prof. Sears makes
some interesting comparisons with
New England.
Enumerating the factors which
should interest a prospective grower
to invest money in a New England
orchard, Prof. Sears says: In the
first place land values are very much
in favor of New England. Men have
been going West to grow up with the
country for so long that prices for
land in any of the good fruit sections
are abnormally high, while they are
correspondingly low in the East. One
hears constantly of the wonderful
prices which are paid there for raw
lands, or for lands which are set to
orchards, while $1,000 to $4,000 an
acre have been refused for a bearing
orchard. Here in New England, on
the contrary, splendid orchard land
can be bought for S., $40 to $50 an
acre. No country in the world
abounds more in ideal sites than
New England. If n can buy land
ready to set out in trees at $25 an
acre, he has just one-fourth the in
itial capital on which to pay interest
compared with the man has who
uses 500 land, and his chances of
paying dividends are that much bet
ter"
The skeptical may ask, if this is
so why have our New England lands
so long gone begging? Prof. Sears
admits that he, too, would like to
ask the question. AS nearly as he
has been able to ascertain there are
three principal reasons why III
lands have not been taken up in this
way. First, there is almost the uni
versal feeling that an orchard is a
long time investment; that it is go
ing to take years before any returns
will be received; that while it may
be an investment for ones children,
the one who plants it cannot expect
to get much out of it. Second, the
fact that we are so largely a subur-
IAN community here in New England
that truck crop and dairying have
been profitable, and onc these
branches are started they naturally
kept in the lead, as farmers are pro.
verbally conservative and slow tC
change into new lines.
Third, there has been too long 6
feeling here in the East that we can.
not compete with the West in any
line of agriculture. Only last veal
a Connecticut man beat Western corr
growers at the national corn show
and Prof. Sears believes that if East,
ern orchardists will only try it they
can easily upset the notion hat thu
West has an absolute and ironclat
lead in the production of apples.
Tnere Is no section where flavor
Aaroma, juiciness and sweetness arr
}more highly developed in apples thai
' here in New England. Another bi:
factor in favor of New England is tn,
markets. If our grower is competin.
on anything like equal terms with hi
Western competitors in other re
spects, it would seem that he felt h,
is right in the midst of the best mar
kets in the world, while his compel
itors are 1900 miles away from them
ought to give the local grower
great advantage. Unfortunately thi
nearness to markets has in the pas
worked as much, if not more, agains
as for New England fruit.
After a very optimistic discussion
of the situation, Prof, Sears make