The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-02-01

lieve it would be greatly to the bene-
demand if the bill should pass. l be-
fit of the growers wherever the box is
used to agree on uniform size, but
am not in favor of allowing the ship
pers to dictate to us how we should
put up our fruit. We have studied
this matter a great deal more than
the dealers have and know what is
best. If they do not want to handle
our fruit as we put it up they can let
it alone. We are abundantly able to
take care of ourselves in this matter.
The Rural New-Yorker, the best all
around farm paper published in Amer
lea, if not in the world, sometimes
gets things little mixed For in
stance, it usually has funny column
on the last page. I nearly always read
that column just after eating hearty
dinner-it helps digestion. But
missed this funny part in the last is
sue, so l turned to the front of the
paper and began to read it through
in regular order, when 10! right on
the front page 1 found the fun and
commenced to laugh and "the smile
won't come off," Here on this page
a man explains why Vermont does
not take front rank in growing apples
and what is the explanation? A man
named Halliday gravely tells the
readers of this great farm journal
that 'Tt is practically impossible to
bring an orchard up to bearing age,
for the deer will destroy the young
trees as fast as they can be planted,
and our game laws say the farmer
must not shoot these deer when
caught in the very act of destroying
his trees and crops" l am still
laughing. This man Halliday says
that Vermont apples are, without
doubt, the finest that can be grown
anywhere in the world, and there are
today thousands of acres of land in
the state that would produce more
money if planted out to apples than
to any other crops that could be put
on the land" Now, after stating all
this, he says it is practically impos-
sible" to raise the Finest apples in
the world" because the deer would
eat up the young trees 'as fast as
they can be planted" Shades of
Yankee enterprise! Why don't you
build wire fences around these or
chards? We raise apples here in
Washington and ship them across the
continent to the great Atlantic cities
by the thousands of carloads ano
make good money at the business.
Our apples according to Bro. Halla-
day, can't be quite as good as they
can raise, and yet we pay nearly 81
per bushel in freight and still make
money. Why, brother, the freight we
pay on a carload above what you
would have to pay, would put wire
fence around ten acres of ground
deer high, bull strong and pig tight"
and it would last fifty years with
new posts now and then and the whole
cost OF such a fence would not exceed
one cent a bushel for the time men
toned. "Impossible?" Hardly.
If Vermont can raise better apples
than we can and as many to the acre
and I am not disputing that state
ment, for not only does Mr.. Halliday
say so, but Hale of Connecticut and
the editor of the Rural New-Yorker
seem to indorse him,-the saving in
freight over us would make a Yer.
mont grower rich in few years.
AS Vermont has no very large cit
les, the farmers must be in the as
tendency, at least in numbers. Why
don't they elect enough of their own
numbers so they can repeal these UNI
just laws? When a man gravely as
serts that it is practically impossi-
BILE" to raise apple trees on account
of the deer, he must use the word
impossible" in a sense not under