Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-07-28
Continued From First Page.1

county 1t can be said frankly that a
great portion of the population OF
Pennsylvania knows that Adams coun-
ty is a good fruit growing community,
but there are few who have never
visited the territory who know the
large scale on which the industry is
conducted.
Visitors yesterday learned that
there is a great business in the COM
munity and they learned further, as
they travelled along, that the present
great business is only in it's infancy.
Railroad officials are realizing this,
too, for they are making arrange
ments for the construction of ad-
ditional sidings at the various ship
ping points throughout the belt. An
other indication of the mammoth in
dustry is the cold storage plant at
Biglersville and the construction of 4
Community" packing house in the
same town where fruit can be packed
and barrelled and then rolled into the
storage house a hundred feet away.
During the trip yesterday possibly
a dozen stops were made at various
orchards and at these, together with
all the others in the belt. it was inter-
esting to note the condition in which
the orchards are kept. The soil about
the trees is well loosened and free
from growths which would take away
nourishment.
Fertilizers are used and the ground
Is kept in the best possible state of
fertility. Men, hundreds of them, are
at work all the time, pruning the trees
and thinning the fruit, removing the
peaches and apples which would
dwarf the healthier ones.
No Competition
In the Adams county fruit belt there
is one outstanding feature and that is
the absence of competition which
would in any way tend to break up
the fruit industry. or course every
grower Is eXerting his best efforts to
produce the most profitable fruit but
there is no one man who stands out
above the others. The great belt ap-
pears to be controlled by one big
family, made up of all the growers in
the community, and each individual
is working for one common good, the
welfare of Adams county and her fruit
production. An example of this was
expressed by one of the members OF
yesterdays party, who said: 1--WE do
not want our visitors to talk so much
about what they have seen on Jim
Browns or Bill Jones farm as much
as we want them to talk about what
they have seen in the fruit belt as a
whole"
Big Peach Crop
The peach crop this year will far
surpass that of former years and ac-
cording to the estimate 200 cars will
be necessary to move the production.
Notwithstanding this big showing, ap-
pearances seem to indicate that the
growers are not eXerting as much
energy in the output of peaches as
they are of apples. For this crop
probably 1900 cars will be required
On many of the farms peacn and apple
trees are planted alternately Peach
trees produce large crops during the
fourth year. but it takes from eight to
ten years to produce large crops OF
apples. Because of the long period
required to get a good supply OF
apples. the peaches are planted and
these keep up the running expenses
of the farm until the apples become
profitable. In the course OF time, when
the apple trees mature and more space
Is needed. the peach trees are removed
If the growers, at the present time
should stop planting peach trees, it Is
possible that within the next ten OF
| fifteen years, peaches would he scarce
| But there is no dange- of this. The
growers are buying up all available
land from time to time and continue
to plant the Oeach and apple and 1t Il
safe to estimate that at the present