Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-12-12
SAYS THIS COUNTRY
IS BEST IN WORLD
FOR PEAR GROWING
Cant Be Beat" Says R. L. Dali
ton, Horticultural Inspector
for This District.
WATCHING LOCAL ORCHARDS
Farmers Must Care for Their
Trees, Inspector Says
Wants to Help.

THE farmers of Thurston county
and of Western Washington for that
matter have neglected to do the very
thing this country is best adapted for
the raising of pears. It's the best coun-
try in the world for growing pears
you can't beat it-and now is the time
to plant them, for the man who does
it now will make big money. Let the
other fellow raise the apples-the
Thurston county farmer ought to grow
pears"
That's what r. L. Dalton, district
horticultural inspector for Thurston,
Mason and Chehalis counties, thinks
about it and he points to the experience
of one grower between here and Seat
tie who took $4,000 this year off of q
Az acre pear orchard as just one ex-
ample OF what can be done.
Il don't mean to say you can't grow
apples here" Mr.. Dalton continued,
"for your Wealthy apples took first
prize at the state fair in competition
with the Eastern Washington apple
districts. You can grow as highly col
ored an apple here as any that are TAX
en- out of the Yakima valley. If your
growers will take care Of their trees.
but you can raise pears better and
cherries and prunes to perfection--it's
an ideal country for these fruits.
There's one thing found out about
your farmers, though, after I'd talked
with them a little while and urged
them to take care of their trees, to
prune them and spray them and culti-
vate them-they didn't seem to want
to be educated. Things grow too cas-
lily here or the climate is too pleasant
or something don't know what it is
but they didn't seem to care.
That's what meant when said In
the letter l sent out to the farmers
here that in the past there seems to
have been marked apathy against this
much needed work. and it's why I
told them this department intended to
compel them to take care Of their
trees even If 1t had to use its police
power. II we're going to raise any
fruit around here at all. we've got to
raise 1t right.
THAT letter caused some commo-
tion," and he smiled a little as he
said It," but 1t worked-some Of the
farmers are already at work and the
rest of them will be soon. All they
needed, guess. was some one to con-
vince them they all had to do 1t.
Il suppose there'll be some that
won't spray and prune their trees as
they ought to. I'm going to keep close
tab on them. We're going to produce
a better grade of fruit here in Thur
ston county If this department has any
thing to say about it, and II the farm
ers will only realize it, what this de-
partment is aiming to do is to create
a better grade of fruit for the market
SO they can sell 1t at better figure
and SO the person who buys it won't
grumble about it.
"And we will do everything we can
to make their orchards commercial Or
chards, their products something they
can SELL We will send them all kinds
of bulletins about spraying, pruning
and other features of the work, and II
that isn't sufficient, I'll 60 into the or
chards with them and show them how
to spray and to prune.
"Then, If they won't do it, We'll go
after the fruit and condemn it and
Well go into the orchards and cut the
trees down and burn them. We've got
to raise good fruit here or none at ALL"
For more than half an hour he told
the editor of the STANDARD of one in
stance after another of poorly cared
for trees, some that are so, IS and 60
years old, have never been sprayed or
pruned, but are still bearing fruit. He
criticised severely such neglect-he
seemed highly pleased as he told how
the farmers were beginning to cooper
ate with his department in the grow
ing Of better fruit in this county.
1t will cost about Sc an acre, he said.
10 give the trees the three sprayings
that are necessary, and. "I'll guaran-
tee they will have 80 per cent. market
able fruit If their trees are thoroughly