Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-05
ROTARIANS VIEW
WALTON FARMS
With Their Wives Inspect Big
Fruit and Vegetable
Tract

tary Club AMI their wives were guests
yesterday of Mr.. and Mrs. Robert j.
Walton at his immense fruit and
vegetable farms just east of Hum
melstown. The party went to the
Walton home by automobiles and ar
rived there in time for an hours
ride by daylight over Mr.. Walton's S
big estate. Dinner. the menu of
which was made up almost entirely
of corn and other vegetables and
fruit raised on the farms, was served
on the lawn and the first fall meet
ing of the club Immediately followed.
After welcoming his guests Mr..
Walton in a brief address outlined
the extent of his farming enterprises,
which are among the largest in
Pennsylvania. He said:
We've been asked so many times
what our acreage is that we thought
1t would be interesting to our guests
to know what acreage we have
planted of the different vegetables,
fruits and grains.
"a number of our acres produce
two or more crops per year. We fol-
low on about fifteen acres intensive
methods of production with such
crops as lettuce, radishes, spinach,
beets, onions and celery. You per-
haps noticed on the inspection trip
quite a few fields seeded with rye,
cowpeaS, vetch and cowhorn turnips.
These are for soil improvement
plowing these crops down while
green and using lime to correct the
acidity of the soil caused by the
green manurial crops which we turn
in. You may also have noticed that
in our young orchard we plant corn
between the tree rows and winter
squash and pumpkins on the tree
rows, this requiring cultivation and
at the same time cultiyating the
trees. After the last cultivation. tur-
nips or some cover crop is sown in
this orchard for soil improvement.
Our trip started at the home
farm, where we have $50 acres de-
voted entirely to vegetables. In this
there are Ii acres under the Skinner
system of irrigation. We then pro-
ceeded to Nos. l, 2 and 3 farms,
where there are 165 acres of fruit. In
this tract there are 453 acres; the
balance is devoted to general farm
ing with the exception of Is acres,
on which we grow our root crops for
winter. One farm of 262 acres, lying
three miles south, we did not visit on
this trip. On this farm we have 10
acres of orchards and about IL acres
devoted 20 vegetables, the balance
general farming.
OuI equipment COhSlSJS VI ldIu
tractor with the discs and plows, %
head of horses and mules, four auto
trucks and all the improved farming
machinery, sprayers. ETC., that go
with an up-to-d date farm.
81 give you the acreage devoted to
the several crops to let you know
where are grown many of the fruits
and vegetables sold in the Harris
burg markets:
Orchards, 2O5 acres, consisting of
900 peach, 5000 apples. 500 pear,
500 plum and 800 cherry trees.
Berries. grapes-One acre straw
berries, acres black raspberries.
currants and gooseberries and acres
grapes.
getables-Twenty-si acres po-
tatoes, AZ acres sweet corn, acres
sweet potatoes, IS acres cabbage, 16
acres peas, "a acres beans, acres
onions, 8 acres lima beans $4,000
poles), 6 acre beets, acres tomatoes,
acres carrots, 4 acres parsnips, /
acre peppers, 1 acre eggplants, 6
acres lettuce, 8 acres. celery, 2 acres
endive, 4 acre spinach, 2 acres kale
4 acres asparagus, acres radishes
2 acres rutabagas, l acre satisfy
half-acre chicory, AZ acres turnips
3 acres cucumbers, 1 acre muskmel-
ons, 1 acre watermelons and 5000
hills pumpkins and squash in young
orchard.
General farming - Eighty-one
acres hay, Sc acres wheat, g acres
rye, 33 acres oats and 124 acres field
corn"
Plans for a field day at Paxtang
for members only, and for an auto
mobile trip for the ladies of the clut
were outlined by P. G.. Diener, chair.
man of the entertainment committee
Announcement of a big gathering oi
Rotarians to be held in Harrisburg
about the middle of October, wheT
representatives of clubs from the
whole eastern district will be present
was made. Plans for the coming
year will be outlined by the presi.
dents and secretaries who will at
tend.
Aside from the interesting address
of Mr.. Walton, Farm Agent Neisley
made an address on the needs OF
farm improvements in Dauphir
county and the efforts of the farm
ers to increase crops and farm prod.
uce in general.
The trip home by moonlight was a
pleasant feature.