Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1914-04-03
In Seattle and Spokane


orchards of apple, cherry and pear
trees. The trees are planted as
merest switches, and after few
years of irrigating, blowing, prun-
| ing and waiting they begin to bear,
but the pears and apples must be
shaken off until the little stem is
Sufficiently strong to hold a few up.
, The stock is Of normal growth, but
the limbs grow very fast where
irrigated and for the sake Of the
, slender trunk, must be clipped off
a couple Of times year, else a
sudden gust of wind would rend
the tree and destroy it.
! It is found inconvenient to raise
crops in these orchards although
some plant spuds, a row of cucum-
bers or musk melons in the center
of the rows for these interfere with
the constant cultivation necessary
to the proper development Of your
trees. You can easily find a man
who will gladly sell at a high figure
his acreage Of trees just planted,
land SIG per acre they will keep
the ground stirred throughout the
season for you. and in 10 or Is years
perhaps you can have a paying
proposition. 1t is a great place to in
vest lots of money, and there is lots
of it already invested. How soon
it will yield returns remains to be
seen.
| In some places the lakes and low
lands furnish sub-irrigation and no
surface irrigation is necessary, as
the water and moisture underneath
feed the roots sufficiently during
the rainless season, but where the
water is $50 feet below the surface
the trees, vines and vegetables get
no other moisture than the irriga-
ton bitches furnish them. Nearby
our sisters home we visited an ir-
rigation we'll that at 154 feet had
an unlimited supply of water. This
we'll some 10 feet across was made
o solid concrete walls. One by one
the proprietor kindly gave each Of
us a trip down the we'll in an eleva-
vator to the electric pump station
near the water below. Through a
great tube this engine was throwing
a stream Of water into the irrigating
bitches night and day, at the rate
Of 1900 gallons per minute. They
We're irrigating with it 255 acres.
With more pumps installed within
the we'll this could be increased
four times, but adjacent farms could
only get it at cost Of $1,000 per
acre annually.
On coming up I ventured to in
quire the cost of such system and
the owner replied $4,000
The eastern tenderfoot who ex-
poets to crop the west as he did the
east must learn few expensive les
sons
We spent a pleasant day picnick-
ing at Liberty lake about IS miles
east of Spokane, and another at
Clear lake about the same distance
west. Boating was fine but fishing
was dull sport. The trip to Seat
tie was made in the day time which !
gave us an opportunity to see all
the beautiful mountainous land
scape, and get a general idea Of the
-
and Yakima, arriving at Seat
tie after the evening Shades had
fallen. We were 1907 miles west
Of St. Paul, or 2o57 miles from
Cresco.
Would you like to see-Attle?
There is certainly lots Of Attic to
see. Located on Puget Sound, Sc
attic is a great harbor for the ships
Of commerce from Alaska and the
Orient Like all the port cities
along the coast, Seattle expects to
be greatly benefited by the opening
Of the Panama canal, and is patient
" waiting for the boom Of trade to
rolling in upon the shore. There is
nos doubt that easy access to the
Pacific and the market furnished
the west for her fruits, and lumber
and oil, etc, will benefit both east
and west. The streets of Seattle
rise tier upon tier from the water
front until you are cup town."
Many foreigners, principally Jap
anese, are seen upon her streets and
at work in the stores and hotels.
The day following. or July 81, we
spent on Puget Sound. A large ves-
sci leaves Seattle in the morning
for Victoria, British Columbia, and
the same evening.
The air was clear and still and
the sky cloudless. The water Of
the sound was quiet, save as it was
cleft by the mighty vessel, which