Imperial Valley press., 1914-06-22
Fruits of South America.

nave nlJHeGbO Uteil more OF less uOF-
mant in South America will be stimu-
lated into activity. The United
States furnishes a profitable market
for many products of the southern
continent, and with easy and rapid
transportation facilities supplied this
market will extend to perish.ible as
well as the more stable products. One
of the most profitable industries for
which some Of the South American
countries are especially well adapted
is that of fruit growing. In a re-
cent article in the monthly bulletin
of the Pan-American Union, w. F..
Wight Of the United States depart
ment of agriculture writes:
'South America probably has a
range of climate and variety of con-
ditions that will admit of the success
full cultivation of every known fruit
Very nearly all of present Importance
have been introduced into one locality
or another. In the tropical or sub
tropical regions are those adapted to
such climate, namely, the sapodilla,
mammes appel, mango, breadfruit, ba-
mana, tamarinse, pomegranate, avo-
cado, loquat, olive, fig, orange and
lemon, in addition to those native.
In temperate regions nearly all Of the
deciduous fruits grown in the Unit
ed States have been introduced.
In Argentina the grape is the first
fruit which has attained the great
est commercial Importance and the
Mendoza country seems to lead all
other sections. According to Mr..
Wight undeveloped land in the vicin-
ity of Mendoza is considered worth
from $l7O to $3.50 per acre. Planted
in vines it is valued at $3.50 to $1200
per acre. The net profit from vines
in good bearing condition is said to
be about $170 per acre. One grow
er, 4 native of Argentine, stated that
table grapes trained on an overhead
trellis yielded him a net profit of
$840 to $1,000 per acre, and that he
had received as high at $4.2O for sin
gle selected clusters in Buenos Ayres.
The area in vines for the whole of
Argentina is stated at 259,000 acres
in 1910, and the production of wines
as 92,574,000 gallons, valued at more
than $25,O00,0O0. In the same year
California produced nearly 45,5OO,O0O
gallons, valued at little more than
$13,O 100000 dollars.
Leaving Mendoza and passing over
the barren heights of the Andes at
an altitude of more than 10000 feet
the traveller arrives in Chile. One
seems to have reached another Cali
fornia, but with climate possibly
even more mild. There are in fact
many similarities, and all of the fruits
grown in California are produced in
Chile, probably in equal perfection
but with far less care, and the indus
try has not developed as in North
America. Here, too, the grape is the
most important fruit, the annual pro-
duction being about 100000 gallons
Of excellent wine. The section about
Valdivia is also noted for its fine
apples, those from one we'll known
grower having frequently sold in Bue-
nos Ayres for $1O5O a box of 14C
apples, while individual fine speci-
mems have retailed even in Santiago
for 90 cents each.
Leaving Chile and going northwarl
to Peru. Bolivia and Ecuador, one
reaches countries that lie wholly with
in the tropics, and yet in consequence
of the high altitude of some sections
they present a range Of climate as
great as that of any country on the
continent and as we'll suited for the
cultivation of deciduous fruits. In
these regions apricots ripen from De-
cember to February; cherries from
November to February; peaches from
December to March; plums from Janu-
ary to March; pears from February
to May; grapes from January to Nav
or June. In other words, just when
the native fruits of the United States
are out of season here they are in
season in the southern hemisphere.
Last year the United States i'm
ported something over $4,000, 900
worth of fruits from foreign coun-
tries. These consisted almost alto
gether of the kinds that are produced
in limited quantities or not at all in
this country, such as bananas, cur
rants, dates, figs, olives, etc. Apri-
cots, peaches, pears, plums, cherries
and the many other fruits to which
we are accustomed would find a splen-
did market here in the winter sea-
son, If they could be had fresh. 1t
is this demand for our native fruits
in the off season which will develop