Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 15, 1925, Page 37

INDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1925 PP ruit' Growing e With Profitable Results In Many Parts of Stat Difficulties ~ Encountered by Pioneers Over- come by Selection of Varieties Suitable for This Climate DR. AVEN NELSON. (University of Wyoming) The fact that fruit may be grown profitably in many locailties in Wy- oming is no longer to be questioned. It has been demonstrated that our soils are sultable,.our climatic con- ditions favorable for the develop- ment of high grade fruits from hardy teties. Most of the failures of the earlier years were due to lack of knowledge as to methods of treat- ment, varieties to be planted and con- Mitions to be met. The earlier ex- Mperiments were made by people who jumed that the fruits known to hem in their former homes could be used with equal satisfaction here. Such plantings were made in the Wface of the new conditions which c#fered shorter growing seasons and longer periods of danger due to de- siccating winds, intense sunlight, and occasionally excessively low temperatures. In more recent years these difficulties have been over- come by the introduction of nursery stock and of varities that have been developed under conditions ‘similiar to ours. Apples Exported, As an evidence that fruit is being grown successfully one needs mere- ly to call attention to the fact that in one of the larger fruit districts of the state their co-operative mar- keting plans has included apples as an export product. It is true that there are not many orchards in the state that may be strictly designated as commercial orchards and yet when the number ts large enough so that community interest demands that standards secured by grading shall be observed, there must be a considerable number to be profited by the returns. Much is to hoped , from and for an industry that so early jn its development commands the best thought of the growers. It happens that up to the present time Wyoming as a relatively new fruit district has been remarkably free from’ dangerous insects and fungus diseases. Unfortunately it !s true that this freedom from pests {s not &® permanent condition in any dis- trict no matter how favorably sit- vated. The introduction of new plans—crops of any kind. inevitably bring with them their natural enem- ies. We shall soon find ourselves in the condition ‘of the older states, “namely inability to grow fruit of value unless vigorous steps are taken to hol@ tn check the destructive agencies that normally accompany uncared for crops. Vigilance Against Infection. Apple and pear blight and the coddling moth are the foes that the apple grower must now face. The lat- ter is readily controlled by proper sprays. The former with comparative | oentainty if right treatment follows the first evidence of its presence. The trouble has been that failing to recognize the disease, orchards have been practically ruined before ex- eon help was sought. There js, how- J ever, no longer any excuse for this wince every experiment station or othsr state agency {is prepared to furnished printed matter describing the trouble and prescribing the rem- edy. To this statement Wyoming ts no exception. For a number of years stress has been laid upon control through prevention of thelr intro- duction but carelessness, within the stato, has permitted some of the pests to become established. The state board of horticulture has, how: ever, distributed information and is prepared to supply further details as good as the best anywhere, Casper Affords Market. Among the fruit districts thet have established their value the more protected valleys in Natrona coun- ty, especially its favored spots in the foothills, are peculiarly adapted to the home orchard or even com- mercial ventures. Casper has become a city of such size as to furnish a local market sufficient to absorb all that may be grown for some years to come. The growers, however, must learn that a home market will not accept fruft unless it measures up in quality with the class that com- mercial enterprise places In compet- ition with the home product. Even though the home product be offered “at a lower price, a grower will soon find that price is but one factor and that it soon yields its place in the face of a better product. It murt also be kept in mind that ary good var- fety becomes 4 non-marketable prod- uct as soon as it is off-color, mal- formed, wormy or splotched with fungus. ‘The housewife may patient- ly clean and prepare a poor product if It be grown at her own home but she will not willingly go into the market and purchase the same kind of stuff that she unhappily accepts from her own orchard. Choosing the Varieties. The choice of varieties should be q} Followed grower. If it ts merely to supply the home, a few trees of several kinds are interesting and desirable but if the objective is profitable market- ing the varieties should be very few and chosen with reference to the market to be supplied and the season offering the smallest competiti Under Wyaming conditions, includ- ing the short growing season, the Tange of sulfable varieties Is very limited. Even for the home orchard one sgould confine himself to. not more than two kinds for any given season. Apples, designated as edrly summer apples in the Mississippi valley states are with us late sum- mer or early autumn. Of these per- haps the best is the Yellow Trans- parent. As substitutes for this Char- lamoff comes first and then the Duchess or Tetotsky. For autumn or early winter varie- tles, the Wealthy takes easily first place, after which one might choore with safety among Hutchins, Oka- bena and Fameuse (Snow). Winter Varieties Limited. Winter varieties that shall reach their very best development in our short season are more. difficult to | find. The following, however, include the more reliable ones. If the alti- tude {s 6,000 feet or above even the | winter list should be headed by the Wealthy. At these altitudes the en- tire season is required tg bring it to perfection and ff picked just as it is approaching its maturity and placed in cool storage, it will be in excel- lent condition even as late as Janu- ary or February. For the lower alti- tudes, and for every late keeping the choice should be made rmong the following; Northwest Greening, Jewell Winter, York Imperial and Patten Greening. To the above list of standard ap- ples one must always add, in the home orchard, the very prolific and hardy crabs, Any of the following are distint good and very de- sireble: Florence, Whitney No. 20; Hyslop, Transcendent, Red Siberian. The lists as given ‘aboye do not by any means represent the desir- able varieties that may be grown. These lists are merely suggestions. For a full discussion of the fruits that have been proven on the state experiment farm, at Lander, see Bul- letin No. 2, Volume. III, issued by the state board of horticulture, Lara- mie, Wyo., free on request. Other Fruits. This article will not permit dis- cussion of all of the adapted fruits but much should be made of the tre- mendous success that is /being se- cured in this state with the Hansen hybrid plums, These are equally. de- sirable for the home orohard or for marketing. No orchard should be without Opata, Sapa, Waneta, or Hanska. Standard plums are also being grown with marked success. In this Ust place Forest Garden Wyant, Hawk Eye and Cheney, Pears are wonderfully prolific.and singularly delicious but hardy strains must be chosen. For altitudes up to 6,000 feet, nothing better has been found than the Flemish Beauty. {n the lower altitudes, Bartlett has also been satisfactorily grown. The berry garden is a subject all its-own—quite worthy of an article longer than the present one. Space however, forbids, its discussion fur- ther than to say that the Ever-Bear- ing Strawberries, the Red Currants (Perfection, Victoria Red Dutch), and the Goseberries are worth to the home many times the trouble in- volved in growing them. In the bul- letin referred to above these garden fruits are discussed at greater. length. Public Service Corporations in State Valuable Publio service corporations in Wyoming have an assessed valua tion of $175,613,522.82, according to values fixed by the state board of equalization for tax purposes. The total {s divided as follows: Railroad compantes..$ 87,170,293.00 Pipe Ine compantes.. 9,534,980.00 Coal companies. 21,328,601.91 Of1 compantes —_.. 41,991,597.71 Gas companies 1,405,131.91 Miscellaneous companies Public utilities (elec- tric, gas, water and bus lines) ~ Telephone and graph companies... Private raflroad car companies 1,236,920.86 6,029,466.00 8,664,685.43 4,251,896.00 determined by the objective of the Promising Young Orchard 75,613,522.82 T A EE I Che Casper Daily Cribune PAGE ELEVEN AAA AAA What a Short Corn Crop Means ,Corn is the main factor in the meat production of the U. S. and particularly is‘this true of hogs. Crops throughout the corn belt this year were way below the average, which will mean fewer and not as well fat- tened hogs to be marketed. Our method of buying enables us during the packing season to take none but the very best hogs offered, and we have large stocks of the best grades of Bacon, Hams and Lard for our trade. We also have the usual number of choice beef on feed and will have plenty of fat beef for all spring and summer. u CASPER PACKING COMPANY MILD - SUGAR CURED rom the Best Corn-Fed Hogs “MADE IN CASPER” = = =I = SS = = 4 =| E = a = = = a ILA