The daily sentinel., 1913-05-28
'DR. WARD MILLER
| FAILS To IMPRESS
LOCAL ORCHARD|STS

1 DR.. A. Ward Miller of Los Angeles
was a visitor in the city yesterday.
He admitted without being interro-
gated that he is the greatest fruit
tree expert in the world and a soil
spray and horticultural wizard, so
! eclipsing Luther Burbank that the
latter gentleman must have small
cause for comfort in his successful
Investigations.
Yesterday morning he left for Salt
Lake City on No. 3, after spending a
day looking over the fruit ranches of
the valley, unaccompanied save by
his family. He stated that he is the
owner of tremendous fruit interests
In Wenatchee valley section Of Ore
gon. and has been on a trip of in
spection over the fruit bearing sec
tions of the country TO make a report
to some multi-millionaires, who, he
says. are to invest where he tells
them to.
While here Dr. Miller, engaged in
a heated argument with three local
fruit men, who happened to be at the
union depot before his train arrived.
He sought them out: also Sentinel
reporter and began one of the most
eloquent discourses on his abilities
and his Investigations, bringing in
the Grand valley section for a faith
erly chastisement, bordering on sar-
castle TRADE, one would care to hear.
He attracted a good deal of atten-
ton and made several startling state
ments which, had they come from a
man known as authority, would have
been indeed dismaying to local fruit
growers. He directed his monologue
to J F. Spencer of Fruit Ridge. prop
agator of the seedless apple, and a
man with a remarkable fruit growing
record
Mr.. Spencer returned his volleys
with gusto and told him that this
valley had a record. which no real
estate booster from the Wenatchee
section or another part of the world
could destroy. no matter how bonn
bastic and enthusiastic the condem-
nations made The debate attracted
a number of people and the Oregon
man. who claimed to have a record of
five years experience in Toxic, -Ja-
pan-where he said there are thou
sands of Burbanks-pleased quite a
number with his explosive eXhausts.
DIR. Miller stated that Luther Bur
bank is a rank fake and does not
know even how to color flowers. He
said he spent an entire day looking
over this valley and one day in the
Montrose sections. He sought no To-
cal men in either locality. stating em-
phatically. "They could tell me moth
ing. as / receive $4,000 year for
what | know and there Is nothing
about fruit that do not know. Your
trees here are dying of blight; they
are irrigated too much; the ranchers
L. hnt ~, hare. hIn
growers are killing their trees with
spraying poison; the trees have weak
vitality as they are full of useless
wood. Smude pots are all rot; they
do no good. and If the circulation of
the sap was studied as | have studied
1t, the trees would be made so heal
thy that frosts would not hurt them
and a winter kill would be unknown.
IL you growers would pound up tin
cans and fill little holes at the base of
each tree with scrap iron and horse
shoes the iron would be a tonic to the
trees, and they would prosper |
know what | am saying and Colorado
fruit can find no markets that are
not third class, The northwest fruit
in wormless and perfect and healthy
trees are never attacked by worms.
The expenses of myself and my wife
and boy are paid by the people | work
for. | like this state and all the
people, only don't like to talk to
them about their fruit because they
know nothing"
DR.. Miller met with a number of
well-directed replies that ruffled his
composura somewhat, and was told
by Mr.. Spencer that the atter's neph-
ew in the wenatchee valley got 10c
I a how fnr bfa N nlgn
formed the doctor he had trifling
knowledge of fruit himself The doc
tor boarded the train and left still
insisting that he would tell people
that this is no fruit growing section.