, 1922-01-22

euong which q number OF kinds may
be fond. ranches havo their groves
, Of cultivated shade trees and or
chnrds. the eve present and indlspen-
sable vind-breaks-an OF which spells
for great Accomplishment along horti-
cultural lines during the las IS years
against many handicaps. chief OF
which was public opinion
In those early days tho public was
spread very thin over tho state and
h great majority Of these thought
only In terms Of cattle and horses
However. there were exceptions. MS
the carly development of the industry
proved Among the pioneers of the
Big Horn basin. now one OF the estab-
lished fruit growing sections OF the
state. was w. NJ Sleeper Mr.. Sleep
rer brought a large number OF fruit
trees. had them f~reighted to his ranch.
attended to their planting. and left
for the east. giving Instructions as to
the care OF the trees. irrigation in
particular. Upon HE return to HE
ranch the following spring he found
that all his trees were dead but six
He. having faith. was unable TO under
stand this. but a little later over
heard the a who had been In
charge tell his fellows h ar ! had
Thought tho darn things would grow.
4 Should have wntered> them all"
Those six trees had been below and
near a leak in the citchl
Even before his Ed Young OF Ian
der had demonstrated to the state Its
horticultural possibilities, and among
Others who followed his example were
II q. Peters Oh his lot at Douglas.
E--k V.ff,, .-A Ala nffrIo rAar Cu1.
eper, Hon. j.. NJ. Carey at the SO
ranch. n others about Sheridan.
Many Varieties Flourish
At the present time. apples. crabs.
p1ums. gooseberries. r~aspberries and
strawberries arc successfully grown In
every County of the state. True It is
4that very high and ~unfavored sec
Sfions are confined to few varieties
wiz, wealthy and Yellow Transpar
Sent apples. a lumber OF crabs an
nearly all of tho small fruits. In the
sfavored sections the varieties OF a
or It's kline that are gr-wn arc toe
numerous. and perhaps there are
many desirable sorts as yet untried
Again. some varieties VIII succeed on
one ranch and fail on the nelghbot
ing one. However. we have a fen
sorts tina are grown commercially
that are sure to succeed in the fruit
growing sections. They are impor
stant In the order named; Wealthy, We,
low Transparent. Patterns Greenine
Northwest Greening and Duchess
Gutenberg apples: all standard crabs
DeSota, Wyant, 4 the Hansen
1piums. and almost all OF the small
Hfruits. Cherries and pears succeed to
IA certain extent. but It is doubtful If
. they can be grown or a commercial
basis generally.
Since the localities most favorable
for commercial fruit growing are di-
vided geographically rather than by
county or ether lines we shall dis
cuss them accordingly. In point OF
acreage and production the Big Horn
basin leads the state and Is certainly
not behind in development Of the In
dustry, climate and soil permitting
cultivation OF almost endless varities
especially plums and small fruit
/ believe the Lander valley is easily
the second considering h territory
embraced. The State Experimental
Fruit farm is in this valley and Or
chards are conspicuous on almost every
farm and ranch
The writer has not been In the
q Sheridan district sinco the early
s ninties and though he examined ever,
page of a recent special issue OF .
sheridan newspaper he failed to fine
any mention OF the fruit industry
Nevertheless he knows well that TIL
valleys OF the Tongue and Gooseberr'
rivers and their tributaries are rrodu
ing ouantities Of fine fruit and thr
there are men there who have do
their full share towards the level
ment OF horticulture in that sectio
of the state.
The wheatland district b. as re
CARDS first paintings. the latest ada
ton to horticultural acreage- Thour'
they started late they are now abreaS
of the procession and have h induT
try well established. While at the
8 present time wheatland colony Is p
pivotal point, the Laramie and Platte
valleys offer unlimited possibilities;
In fact. this may be said Of the valleys
Of Che entire southeastern portion OF
ths state.
The central portion Of h state con-.
prtsinr and Natrona coun-
firr are less favored than the others
named. but arc far from being neg
iirfble. There are many smaI or
chards In both these counties notable
among which are those OF Hon J..
Carey at the so ranch IN Converse
county and that OF Hon B. B. Brooks
In Natronn-
Ed young. previously mentioned
has originated some new varieties
chief among which WAS the ~Wyo
ming apple, and shout three years
AFRO Mrs. Eva O.. Lambertson Of Ian
der sent a promising new crab to the
wyoming stats fair.
Anything Ike a close estimate OF the
actual acreage planted to trees nne
small fruits IN the state would b.
both surprising anc highly interesting
but the very nature OF tninss pre-
cIudes the possibility Of making a
rr,esy that would be safe.
Short Crops Aro Eew.
Under average conditions Tie wyo-
ming crchardist has moro trouble
with overloaded trees than with short
crons. The value of the fruits grown
and consumed by the growers II