Imperial Valley press., 1913-12-01
CONSERVATIVE STATEMENT
OF IMPERIAL VALLEY DATES

Will you make date IN the lmpe-
rial valley? We will, we will, my
daughter dear, or rather the fertile
soil. the soft dry air, the splendid sun
shine will make a date-uncounted
thousands of them
Much has been written about the
late orchard of the California Date
Company east of Heber and about SIX
miles from Ell Centre, and much that
has been misstatement and rank
"boom" stuff. DESTROYS of presenting
the exact facts to the readers of this
paper, a reporter visited the COM
pany's orchard and interviewed j. E.
Brock, the able and polite manager.
There are twenty-five acres set out
to date palms, forty-eight trees to the
acre. Of this three acres are in full
bearing. These three acres are i'm
ported trees of a fine variety, the
.ruit of which is not usually found
n the general market, as on account
IF their delectable taste they are
eagerly taken by buyers who do not
stop at price, and moreover, they
must be selected with great care and
daintily packed in pretty boxes for the
high priced trade. Mr.. Brock was
busy harvesting his crop of these
lates. A we'll dressed and pretty girl
was packing them in small oblong red
Boxes, each holding a pound, with
great particularly and care, and these
little boxes bring the company S5
cents apiece. They are the cream of
he cream. The next grade of these
lates brings As cents pound box. Re-
garding these prices, it should be re-
nembered that these dates are of the
best kind grown in the world and
he pick of the crop. The Algerian
7ariety, grown south of the Mediter-
,anean sea, brings in the European
market not so very much less.
Three acres adjoining the orchard
above mentioned are seedlings and Of
variety not so famous or high priced
but vet fine marketable fruit. These
trees are not yet in full bearing, al
though nearly so.
The remaining nineteen acres are
young trees not yet producing.
From his experience right here in
he valley Mr.. Brock says that speak
ng conservatively a date palm or
hard will produce fruit that will sell
1t from 20 cents to 40 cents per pound
anywhere any time. A tree produces
rom rs to 100 pounds per tree. These
prices and the amount produced are
figured as from year to year and hu-
manly speaking can be depended on.
This year the forty-eight trees to the
acre did not all bear, although nearly
80. 1t has been found by Mr.. Brock
hat dates are like apples and some
other fruits, an overproduction one
year will tend toward barrenness the
next. When the amount of picking
back has been found by experiment,
the crop can safely be estimated at
rs to 100 pounds per tree, 48 trees
IN an acre, each year. This year the
excessive humidity in August tended
20 injure the crop.
A profitable by crop the coming
year will be the offshoots or suckers
Cor planting. There are $4,000 worth
IN the orchard. The crop is not an
lual, as the date palm tends to per-
petuate itself this way but once. These
suckers will make fine trees much
quicker than seed and are worth $40
DER shoot.
We have attempted no deductions
from these figures. They are the re-
suit of the work of careful, educat-
ID and Industrious man, in the person
If Mr.. Brock, and are conservatively
estimated and truthfully given.