The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-01
NOW rHE WEST DOES THINGS.
some Folks ThInE It's Time 10 Tam of
RerlaiminE thr Fast.

Mas Agnes Z. Iaui, Who Knows prop-
ably more about the West than does
any other woman or most men says
IN the RerfrV 81 RSrisWs that Il IL high
time people stopped talking N much
about -reclaiming- the West and turned
IN 70 reclaim the Fast
As a shining example for Eastern far
mers she tells about fruit grower near
Grand Valley. Col. who last year made
a net profit Of g. 80 from a ten acre apple
orchard
Is d tho frmt. or tho soil or 'he sun
hight. or the water. or What'' she asked
him.
Its an Of them NJ answered but
most ~ an. MS our new m-'hods When
I bought rhis p'ar" ! was 8 commercial
traveller N" orchard hat h''ru -st 1ut
by retired clergyman and % Was Just
coming un On hsar. thuut twelve years
old 70 hai hsDn -rt uut pretty we'll, ~
you ssa. mot a single EXPERIMENTAL tr"e.
every one a tested variety and good
producer
4 think q lot safer Tor the newcomer
To- buy an orchard coming On "a h"ar II
ha can aNori o. n company sets out
your rrr's and car"s for them % may ha
all rght ur u may h. all wrong They
may not ue the right varieties NJ they
may not polleuil" property or they may
not ~ cared Tor while they are growing
tu keep them free 1T disease.
I don't ike these orchards with grass
under them. II harbors ton many bugs
ana don ike tree, that have lfen grown
too high and gone all to branch Your
fruit will h.. bru-s,i m the picking. and
high tre-s are expensive ~ spray
-Do you spray often Miss laut asked.
thinking uf fruit county ia the East
where there r. only on" 0TcharJiist who
sprays a. all in that county and h. IA AN
outsider. and he sprays only ono" year.
spray often, / keep two men at
~ a month each spraying all summer
We don't wait ell the bugs come We
sJFay. spray. spray all the time and keep
EN- from ever coming. You S"e On
this whole tW"nty acres there ~ not ono
single blade ~ grass growing the sire
of pin. 10 takes work 10 keep that down
with constant supply II moisture from
the ditch
The idea is 10 keep tho soil s0ft ~ dust
a dust blanket o. hold tho moisture b.
sides I think. and good many fruit
growers think with me. that a bot u bit
ter Wests growing below trees tainis
the flavor ~ the NOR" delicate fruits
Anyway. al thai underground takes
away strength that should gO into the
tree
Our first great danger Is the frost
You know the altitude u this valley IA
000 fest-that's pretty high. dry, clear
sttuttsr aF~ aUN ~. bIuaaurutrsr ,.tr,a-. -.
IN spring before the frOsts have gone
For years tho spring frnsts we're a night
mare ~ this valley. W. used 10 sit up
over night and sweat blood over IT,. the
way the wheat farmers do out IN your
Northwest IN August.
We'll, about once In thrass " Tour Years
we'd be caught. and the fellows Who had
bought their land on the instalment plan
we're all hailed out. couldn't meet cost II
water aud labor. Some 81 ~ got together
and began % try cheap wrinkles with
small coal oil and coal burners.
We found 10 keep the temperature
above tho freezing point those coolest
spring nights it would take from thirty
b. forty small coal uil burners an acre
at a cnst - about t2d. We like the coal
OIL burners hest. because when yuu net
them going they take less hand labor
and hand labor u big consideration out
here.
We get tho United States Weather
Bureau reports at Grand Junction. and
when tho Thermometer begins ~ dr0p
during blossom time warning h tale-
phOnod nut ~ every orchard man in Grand
Valley. last spring tho TOW nzreuple came
ont In waRouloads. v6luntear helpar-
r. keep the coal 0il burners going aud
beat ont the lrnst, and We did heat 0ut tho
NHHaaH H. q
volunteer helpers up and sent them out
o. 49,
-As a type n what the burners did Tor