The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-12-03


and good color, and the statement
is true. 1t has also been said that
Bingham county orchards bear small
apples that are pale and tasteless,
and that is also true. Some orchard
lists claim to make good profits on.
their orchards and they do. Some
say they can make: more money rafS--
ing wheat or potatoes or almost any
other farm crop, and that 1t is better
to pull out the trees than to keep
them, and that Is true of the orchards
and the men under certain manage
ment. Some men say the orchards
of this county II properly managed
for the next few years will pay up
wards of 500 an acre per year, or
If they are trees that have been treat
ed right in the raising and in the
maintenance, they will pay upwards
of 5000 per acre, reaching $500 for
the choice varieties, and that is prob
ably true. We undertake in this
article to give the reasons for all
these conditions. Having interviewed
scores of farmers and examined many
orchards and compared theories and
conditions, we have adopted the ideas
of J. H. Augustine as being the most
reasonable and backed by the most
proof, and in our humble opinion
his ideas will best stand the test of
time and experience.
Mr.. Augustine is a man who came
here six years ago from Oskaloosa,
Iowa, to superintend the raising of
a commercial orchard on lands be-
longing to The Idaho Land & Orch
ards company, situated about five
miles northwest of Blackfoot and.
short distance east of Moreland Mr..
Augustine and his associates have in
vested nearly one hundred thousand
dollars in the orchard business there,
have over 10000 growing trees in.
one tract where they propose to in
crease the number Of $4,000 within
three years, and by their work and
the amount they nave at stake, pre-
sent the best possible evidence that
they have faith in the particular,
theories on which they operate and
which are presented here as given by
their executive, Mr.. Augustine,
- The older states of the union have
not the best orchards for the reason
that they became generally infested
with pests before people knew how
to destroy them and before devices
were manufactured for treating trees
in great numbers with the sprays that
kill the insects. In the newer states
of the middle west the same condi-
lions prevail to some extent and the
first large commercial orchards that
were set have mostly reached an age
limit that reduces their usefulness.
In the far west many localities have
shown remarkable results in large
orchards and orchard districts where
practically everything was set to
trees. The shipment of the products
of these vast orchard tracts into the
states east of them discouraged the
production of the mixed products of
the smaller orchards and by crowd
ing them out, brought about the de-
struction of the, poorer ones or those
situated where other crops could be
raised that were more profitable. The
certainty of crops in the irrigated re-
gions of arid America, led the en-
thusiastic orchardists to operate in
western states, and the certainty that
irrigation will kill apple trees at an
early age if underlaid with hardpan
or any of the subsoils that hold water
and sour the soils by holding miner
ais in solution exposed to the roots,
was overlooked. Such conditions have
killed vast orchards with bla"kheart
or other manifestations of such
troubles at ages following closely up
ha hnnJc Of 70 fou hnauU
crops. The young tree is permitted
to bear a heavy load, then another,
then another, and with the subsoil
souring it's root system it falls an
easy victim. Then the owner pulls
them up and goes to raising sugar
beets or some other crops and gradu-
ally apple production is falling off.
Washington and Oregon have lost
many orchards that way; Colorado |
has suffered the same way and in
good old Missouri, according to the
government report, three million
trees vanished in 1914, and press re-
ports indicate greater sacrifice in
1915. In Bingham county, Idaho, |
orchards do not die from these
causes. They may die from excess
sive watering or from watering at
the wrong times Of the year, but ra-
tional irrigation is not killing our
orchards. either old or young. The
under drainage into the vast gravel
deposits on which the farms rest, in
sures the healthy vigorous action Of
the root system. The tree, then, is
going to live and perform it's full
duty if properly pruned, sprayed and
The market for our apples Is
bright. The low ebb in price was
reached about two years ago, and ap-
pies properly grown and properly
packed for shipment will command
higher prices each year for num-
Der of years. That would have re-
suited even if orchards had not died
Is l have described, for orchard
,racts would have to increase to keep
pace with consumption to keep the
price down. There Is another thing
hat draws orchard products. Go in
% any dry state in the union and
ook around to see what takes the
place of the saloon, and you will find
he soft drink parlor. Ask them
what they have to drink and they will
mention cider among other things.
When the same town was wet" you