The daily sentinel., 1913-11-26
"a. G. NEWTON.)

"a. G. NEWTON.)
In some of my recent articles |
nave claimed that the greater part
OF the failures to make fruit. grow
Ing pay in this valley was the fault,
not of the land or the climate, but
the men who attempted to grow the
! fruit. That they started on the false
idea that once the trees we're set out
there was little else to do but pick it
when 1t was ripe. This has led to dis
satisfaction. the loss of large sums
oil money, and a temporary setback
70 the fruit industry and the sale of
fruit lands.
have several instances in mind to
illustrate or substantiate my claim
that there is money to be made rails
Ing fruit in this valley II only the
proper varieties are planted and
properly cared for until they are
old enough. Then must follow care
ful, Intelligent and constant work to
bring the crop to a satisfactory con-
dition. ] want to mention first Mr..
Carman on Second Fruit Ridge, who
seven years ago purchased the 10
acres where he now. lives. This place
was failure under the two pre-
ceding owners and shortly before IL
was purchased by Mr.. Carman a pri-
vate report was made by an intelli-
gent grower for a prospective buyer.
That report was to the effect that it
was not paying proposition; the
varieties were poor. and that 1t was
not good investment at the price
asked
Mr.. Carman bought the orchard,
and went to work intelligently. prun-
iru Ura I'M
spraying. He had no experience as
a fruit grower, but has studied dill
igently from every possible source,
and has worked with the same dill
gence as the successful merchant or
banker. The orchard has paid him
well almost every year; this year has
been the best in his seven with the
possible exception of 1907 when the
prices were exceptionally high
do not know what the net results of
this years harvest will be. but a car
load of Anjou pears brought close
to $500, and a car of Maiden Blush
apples sold for nearly $1.50 per box.
can be pretty safe in saying that
his returns this year will be almost
half what he paid for the place. and
it will be good deal more than 20
per cent interest on $4,000 per acre.
Another illustration is the 10-acre
orchard set out by w. II. and Earl
Barber between First and Seventh
streets. First Fruit Ridge. which was
sold four years ago, and the pur-
chaser after trying two years gave
1t up and Frank Gishpert took hold
of the place for his father. Last
year he harvested $500 boxes of APP
pies and nearly thousand boxes of
pears. The prices were very low.
This year he took off 200 boxes of
apples and over 500 boxes of pears
the returns reaching near $4,000.
The expense will not aggregate ST.
900.
1t may be said that nearly all the
growers on the Fruit Ridges did
equally well this year when there was
a crop at all, as most of these land
owners are satisfied with their loca-
ton and are giving their orchards
the greatest possible care and atten-
i tion. Some may say that all land is
not on the ridges, but it was with
pleasure that | ran across a grower
out on Grand avenue last week who
was perfectly satisfied with his loca-
tion and was doing well, but he in
sisted that the most general cause of
failure was the lack of application,
and Intelligent study of the condition
and needs Of the orchards.
This successful grower is MIR. A. II.
Mead, In 1906 he bought 80 acres
1 of land for $1,000; later he sold 1o
acres for $4,000. He has had fair
1 crops every year but one, and has
averaged net return of 81 900 each
4 year, except the one. He sowed his
orchard to clover three years ago. let
it grow at will two seasons. and last
1 spring plowed the mass of growth
under. There is now a fine stand
self-seeded, and he claims that there
\ is no better orchard for its age in
the valley, not excepting Fruit Ridge
He said he would not trade with me,
taking the difference of the land val
ues when he bought into consider
alton. His 90 acres stand him about
4 one-third what my seven stands me.
Mr. Mead thinks the difference be-
tween success and failure in fruit
raising lies almost always in the diff
ference between intelligent work and
the lack of it. 1t sure did me good to
hear him boost the industry of the
valley. With his family last year
he visited California, and travelled
from Seattle to the Gulf, and yet
thinks this valley good enough Tor
him-his 20 is not for sale.
Over in the Pomona section We
find Mrs. Johanna Stark. who has
with the help of her children made
success. of the orchard business.
Her husband came to this valley from
Nebraska about IL years ago. and
from the very start was in love with
the country. and succeeded in every
thing he raised. we'll remember
the potatoes he proudly exhibited in
the office of the Weekly Grand
Junction News. Sickness and death
visited the family-the father and a
son we're taken away, but Mrs.
Stark shouldered the load and the
splendid modern home which now
adorns ner place and the evidence
of prosperity in every direction tes-
titles To the fact that she knows how