Arizona republican., 1917-11-08
PROSPEROUS SEASON | FUR THE DATE ORCHARD

The date orchard south of Tempe is in the midst of an abundant har- vest and the orchard has been a hive of industry ever since the dates be- gan to ripen in September. The trees set a heavy crop this year and the fall weather, warm and dry, has been perfect for ripening the fruit.
 Old friends of the orchard miss MT. Simmons, who went to California last summer, but MT HOdgson has carried out the somewhat complicated work of harvesting and marketing the crop very successfully. The trees which are now ten to seventeen years old, are some of them twenty feet or more high and picking be- comes more laooriouS as the trees get higher. Indians, however are employed for this purpose, and make vely good pickels. With ladders and trays they work over the punches of fruit and carry the ripe dates to the packing shed, where they are steriliZed by heat, sorted and packed in neat boxes by the women of the neighborhood who for years past have derived both pleasure and profit from this annual event. The packed boxes are then crated and then ship ped all over the United States, only q small part of the demand being met, however, by the Tempe crop.
 It is safe to say that Tempe and the Salt River valley are very eX tensively advertised, aided by the tasty packages of dates, thousands of which are sent, laoeled with the place of their origin. all over the United States and even to more dis tant countries.
 The orchard has in it about 140 varieties of dates, mostly from Africa Experience has shown a few of them only to be most desirable commer- cially for the Salt River valley. Hay any, for instance, produces consist ently from $20 to $50 worth of fruit per tree each year. Rhars is another good commercial variety, also Mark tum and others with Arabic names equally hard to pronounce.
 At the present time, when it is impossible to import date suckers from the old world, date orchards cannot be planted extensively; but when the way is again open to bring in shipments of desirable varieties. the date industry will again attract investors. At present offshoots from established trees are being rooted in canvas rOofed shelters which afford favorable conditions of light heat and humidity for the tender young offshoots or suckers, as they are often called. Whenever rooted. they are then transplanted to the open where they are to remain. In time, therefore, we will develop our own trees, but it will take longer than ft would by importation of desirable varieties from the old world
 An important development of the past year is the discovery that fresh dates keep well in cold storage. so weeks in prime condition and then supplied to the Christmas or other desirable trade. One lot of fresh dates has. in fact, been kept suc- cessfully for a year.
 The date industry has been thor oughly proved by the orchard at Tempe. Insect pests have been brought under control, the best va rieties for Salt River valley worked out, methods of ripening and market Ing fruit devised and orchard man agement thoroughly studied out. The expansion of the industry is now a question of only a few years, and then dates will take their place among the many profitable etables of this wonderfully rich country.
 Among those who have contributed to the development of the Tempe or chard are Director R. w. Faber. who has worked with problems of or chard management and insect con- trol; Dr. A. E. Vinson, who has worked out methods of ripening and marketing dates; and F. H. Sim mons, for many years foreman of the orchard, to whose faithful care and rare skill is due the commercial 1 success of this new undertaking.