The Glenwood post., 1909-12-25
To Support Family in Western Slope
Fruit Sections Says Fred G.
3 Shaffer of Rifle
GIVES FACTS and FIGURES

The following speech setting forth
the advantages and capabilities of tic
ten acre farm as compared with the
working of a larger area by one family
was delivered before the meeting of the
State Horticultural Society at Palisadc
December /, by Mr.. Fred G. Shaffer Of
Rifle.
In this marvellous fortune field, de
signated geographically as the ''Wes:-
ern Slope We raise everything but
lemons The world is beginning to re
gard us as an exclusive aristocracy in
the wonderland of Pomona. The man
from the east, unfamiliar with actual
production records is incredulous lie
is afflicted with the unbelief of the Mis-
sourian who had been led to believe
that everything in circus was unreal.
Elusive and hallucinating. He looked
at a rhinoceros for an hour. He saw
ed the actual movement of its ponder
ous bulk from one part of the tank to
another. Notwithstanding all this he
left the menagerie tent with the re
mark: Them thar fellers kahn t fool me
thar ain t any sech derned animal as
that. t."'------
We hear doubt expressed when
statement is made representing that a
ten.acrc tract of land, properly titled
and possessing a sufficient water right.
will represent as much as one family
can care for on the Western slope
My purpose is to make plain what ap-
pears manifestly logical to me: That
ten acres of orchard is all that one fam
ily can successfully cultivate and bring
to clean, profitable fruition each year.
Excluding the remote and historical
truck acres of Southern Europe, inten-
sive farming is receiving its greatest
exemplification right here in the valleys
of the Grand and Gunnison rivers i'll
Colorado.
conditions have conquered the greed
for acres. The area of tillabie aud IL
rigablc land is not so much circum-
scribed that the horticuturist is OBJ
ligcd to confin" his efforts to the l.'n's
cd acres, but io has found it unprotit-
able to devote his time to the larger
acrcages.
To illustrate: An individual migat
own an orchard of two hundred acres,
and because he found it impossible !"
procure the required help at the vital
time-the thinning, pruning or picking
periods-this immense acreage might
easily prove anything but remunerat.
i've. Divide this twohundrcd' acre or
chard into ten-acre tracts however; put
twenty families on these tena tracts,
and the owner of each would cultivate
care for it and mature and harvest Il
crop and earn a profit the world regards
as marvellous.
In the discussion of this question we
must keep in mind these vital and g.
sential requirements:
|. Ten acres of good fruit land with
all the water required for its irrigation
and market advantages for the product
of the tract.
.. Sufficient capital to properly in
itiate the crop, care for it the first year
and establish poultry and bee culture
3. A determination to cultivate the
soil intensively.
A. The energy, prudence and BRAN
REQUIRED to succeed in any line of bus
mess.
A land owner possessing these re
ouirements will achieve success. He
cannot do so without effort, however
nor can he do so without making an eff
fort to conform to the conditions of thf
countrv-climati and otherwise.
A farmer in the east obtains ylei'
of fifty bushels per acre from ms nell
of corn. He deems this the generous
gift of benevolent nature. He haul
it to the market in one wagon load re
ceives twenty-five dollars for it and re
turns to his home. This man must hav'