Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1913-08-16
BIG ORCHARD PLANNED
TWO HUNDRED ACRES BEING
SET TO FRUIT TREES.
Part of the Big Orchard Building Cam
paian Being Carried Out Near
ThompsonviIIe-Is Cooperative
Enterprise.

Two hundred acres of cut over
hardwood lands are being cleared and
set to fruit trees TO the west OF
Thompsonville this spring This or
chard building campaign is part OF the
general program being carried out by
the Betsey River Fruit Growers asso-
citation, which association last fall
bought the Louis Sands 5000 acre
tract on the east bank of Betsey river
in Weldon township, Benzie county.
A crew OF 3S men are now on the job
and the brush is being cleaned up,
the stumps pulled, and the trees set as
fast as these men can do the work.
One gang OF men is busy cleaning
away the brush that was left when the
hardwood timber was taken out some
years since. A second gang is busy
blowing stumps with dynamite, n
whole carload OF this explosive being
on hand for use. A third gang is
pulling out the roots and decking the
stumps for burning. A fourth gang
headed by a surveyor. is Get,.-g the
stakes for the orchards and fftE
gang is putting in the trees. These
five gangs are no. all working upon
the same lot, but upon adjoining lots,
in different states Of development. AS
fast as the owner of a prospective
fruit farm decides what kind of an
orchard he wishes, the men are set to
work to get his trees into the ground
that they may begin growing at once.
r. On.r,tiua nrob.rI
The Betsey River Fruit Growers
association is somewhat in the nature
of cooperative enterprise, in that
the work Of clearing the land, plant
ing the trees and caring for them for
the first four, years, is done by the
association, it having been found that
this work can be done much more
economically on a large scale than up
on a small plan. Last year 100 acres
Of ground was set to trees one-fourth
of this area was set TO cherries and
three-fourths to apples. In the fall
rye was planted among the trees as a
cover crop and this spring this 100
acres in lots scattered about the 3 900
acre tract look green and attractive.
ter in excellent shape and are now
about ready to blossom.
A carload of fertilizer consisting
half and half of bone meal and dried
blood, was unloaded at the tract few
days since, and now each tree is being
given one pound OF this fertilizer.
The early part of the month a new
avto hlichad for M or,
that they might be in the middle of
: of the clearings made this spring.
These clearings are mostly on the
west side OF the tract and are on lots
that have a westerly exposure and
overlook the valley of the Betsey river.
The land is $50 feet above the level of
Lake Michigan and because of the
Betsey river valley is we'll drained
both as regards water and frosty air.
AS the tract is but eight miles from
Lake Michigan and on ridge with a
westerly exposure, considerable area
is being given over to peaches IL being
believed that these can be made TO do
exceptionally well in this location.
A Gravel Road Being Built.
A state reward gravel road is be-
ing built from Thompsonville village
10 the center of the tract. Already
FIVE miles of this road is all but fin
ished and an extension is TO be made
until the road crosses the tract.
Among those who are interested In
the development of this big orchard
proposition are Forrest Crissey, the