Omaha daily bee., 1911-01-27
IN The LAND OF Big APPLES
E. c. Leedy Tells of the Wealth Of the
0kanogan Valley.
BIG RICHES IN A FEW ACRES
valley Apples Are Known
All over the world for Their
SuperIority-show st the
Land show.

ct IL not uncommon for many weuatchee
valley fruit growers TO clear $500 an acre;
and Il IL a fact that some OF the better
orchards have earned their owners as high
as 81 900 an acre in a single season" says
e c. Leedy who is in charge Of the Land
Products exhibit for the Great Northern
railway. A large assortment Of apples
from the wenatchee and other fruit grow
ing districts in the Upper Columbia fruit
country Is displayed at this booth showing
the extra fine quality Of the fruits grown
there. Mr.. Leedy cites the instance Of p.
p Holcomb realizing $1,000 from Jonathan,
winesap and King Davis apples grown by
him on thirteen acres of land. Many
other such remarkable records have been
made by fruit growers in that country.
The wenatchee district has come TO be
known a. the land Of perfect apples" says
Mr.. Leedy. This is not boast, but an
established fact, based on the yield year
in and year out, the prices obtained and
the countless prizes won i'm numerous
apple competitions. Almost any orchard
will produce a few good specimens; but 10
grow perfect apples in commercial guam
titles that means by carloads, is the real
test. wenatchee specializes in red apples
for the good reason that they are the best
money getters Of the many crops that
lllIANb tueIb anu utGdhat concentrated NA"
fort nets the best result.
Every element that contributed to the
development Of an ideal fruit growing
country is present in the upper Columbia
fruit districts. The soil has In almost in
exhaustive quantities the requisite chemical
and physical properties; water is available
for abundant irrigation: the altitude, the
| topography Of the valley, the preponder-
ance of sunshiny days, the steady winters,
| the late springs and mellow summers, all
combine with the skill and labor OF the
fruit growers TO make the valleys OF the
upper Columbia river the most perfect APP
pie producers in the world. At the Ma
tional Apple show held in Spokane in 1908
| apples from this country won so per cent
Of all the prizes offered.
Only Small Tracts Needed.
| Land in this country sells from Sl75 to
$500 and upward per acre, but this price is
regarded as trivial in view Of the fact that
a ten-acre tract is about as much as one
farmer can handle; and It will yield him
greater profits with less labor than those
realized by the farmers in the eastern and
middle states, who must have at least 100
acres Of land to make a living. Most of
the fruit tracts in this country are in par
cells Of ten acres, yet there are many Of
five, and even less, which give greater re-
turns than many Of the big farms in other
states"
"wenatchee is a well developed district
having been settled for many years, but
! there are still many acres on which fruit
can be grown in the Columbia valley. The
Okanogan is the newest Of the fruit grow
ing districts and 1t promises, when de-
veloped, 20 give returns equal to those
realized in the wenatchee. Okanogan's
particular merits have been aptly sum
married in the rhythmic slogan, 1.-The FROST
proof Okanogan. where the fruit crop never
fails" which contains a wealth of con-
densed information that cannot fail to ap-
peal TO the careful homeseeker who will
take enough time to investigate and satisfy
himself of the truth OF this remarkable
claim. There is nothing new in this as
sertion OF the high potentiality OF Okano-
gan lands for they have been consistent
producers OF fruits, vegetables and grains
for a score or more OF years; but OF late