The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1919-01-03
THE FRUIT INDUSTRY WILL
PROSPER


of us. The Wenatchee valley is the
most favored fruit section in this
country. Never since the fruit indus
try got foothold here has there been
a crop failure The records show that
the fruit crop of the Wenatchee val
ley has never fallen below two-thirds
of full crop. The quality, and es-
pecially the keeping quality is unsur-
passed, and is evry year receiving
wider and more distant demand.
Hitherto we have in our prodigality
wasted or lost one-third of its market
able value. We only saved the
choicest part, that that required the
least work to put on the market in
the fresh state. The fruit growers,
either short-sighted or content with
half loaf, because it yielded an album
dance, neglected the by-products of
fruit in the dried and preserved state.
The 1918 fruit crop of northern Wash
ington, of which the Wenatchee valley
is the hub, brought the growers over
nine million dollars. If the fruit by
products had been saved four and a
half million additional dollars would
have been added to the orchard yield
of this section. The importance of
this saving has been forced on the
fruit growers and they have already
made great strides toward redeeming
this loss in the immediate future.
The lumber and fruit industry of
Washington will be tremendously
benefited by after war trade because
it lies on the worlds great water high
way to the markets of the world.
The lumber industry of western Wash
ington will enjoy a veritable BOOM
The fruit and grain sections of eastern
Washington are no less fortunately
situated. Wheat will continue to yield
the growers a remunerative return
for several years and proximity to
tide water will make a ready market
The best grades of eastern Wash
ngton apples can stand the rail rates
to the eastern home market, and even
to the European market, and yet leave
the apple grower a round margin of
profit. This was proven the past fall
when ten thousand boxes of fancy
apples were shipt from Dryden sta
ton six miles east of Leavenworth,
to England. Several hundred carloads
from the Wenatchee valley found their
way to the European markets. The
by-products of the Wenatchee valley
orchards, in the dehydrated and pre-
served form, will reach the markets of
the world by the cheaper water route.
We have not heard of one orchard
man who has not made good profit
on his crop, tho the yield the past year
was down to the minimum, two-thlrds
of a crop. From two to five thousand
dollars net profit on bearing five
acre orchard, and from four to nine
thousand net profit on ten acre or
chard, was about the returns to the
apple growers in this valley the past
year.
The mortgage records of the county
reflect the prosperity of the apple
growers. About two million dollars
worth of mortgage indebtedness was
cancelled in Chelan county in the past
three months.
After close observation and COM
parison, covering a period of eighteen
years in the Wenatchee valley, the
editor of The Echo dares assert that
no crop anywhere in the United States
is so sure as an apple crop in the
Wenatchee valley. If the orchard
owner prunes, sprays and cultivates
his trees he will have anywhere from
two thirds to full crop every year
If he prepares to save the by-products
of the orchard he can add from
twenty-five to forty percent to his
profits.
The fact that well located and
irrigated apple orchard is desirable
income property is made evident by
the fact that several orchards have
been sold for good price the past
six months, and the demand for such
lands is not satisfied. There are more
wanting to buy orchards at the pre-
.ailing price than there are that want
TO SELL This is bound to result in an
enhancement in land values in the
Wenatchee valley.
From every angle that the situa-
ton can be viewed and considered the
future looks bright, and we confident
" believe that this year is full of
prosperity for everybody in this coun-