August 13, 2018

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Part III

Article Appeared in the Sunday Morning State Newspaper August 6, 1905

FRUIT GROWING AT RIDGE SPRING

Written for the State by Fritz Hugh McMaster

Wanted - A General Superintendent

Probably one of the most popular citizens of Ridge Spring is Mr. T. B. Edwards, head of the firm of T. B. Edwards and Co.  He is one of the most successful merchants of the place and one of the most popular.  He devotes his time to his merchandizing and while he has peach orchards and ships large quantities of fruit he does not give it a great deal of his person attention. 

Mr. Edwards is of the opinion that it would be a profitable thing for the fruit growers to employ expert fruit grower who would have in his care all the orchards in a community.  His idea is to have a system that holds among tobacco growers.  The expert would give his whole time to the care of the orchards, their fertilization, pruning, spraying, the destruction of diseased trees and the planting of young ones.

            Mr. Edwards thinks this would result in the production of a finer grade of fruit and protection from disease.  The suggestion of Mr. Edwards may mean the chance for some practical fruit expert to get a good position and at same time serve a community well.

Apples Rarely Pay

            One of the youngest and most enterprising merchants of the town is Mr. W. H. Stuckey.  He also grows considerable fruit.  For about seven years he has been shipping apples.  He has about two acres in apples.  This year has been the most successful year he has ever had and his apples have netted him about $100 an acre. He is of the opinion that apples do not pay so well as other fruit in this altitude.  His apples are June Astracans. (this part was illegible but stated something to the affect that peaches are more profitable on a larger scale)

            Mr. Stuckey has five acres of peaches bearing fruit and three acres more of younger trees.  He bought the orchard already  planted.  It is about ten years old.  The replanting of trees does not amount to much and a healthy peach tree can be expected to bear fruit profitably for 13 to 15 years.  It is not unusual to find a tree 20 years old bearing fruit abundantly.  It can be estimated however, that a peach orchard will need to be replanted every 15 years.

            Mr. Stuckey's net returns from is peaches in 1905 were about $40 an acre and his average net return per acre has been from $30 to $35.  The varieties he has in bearing are Crawfords and Mountain Rose.  His younger trees are Elbertas and Carmen.  Mr. Stuckey comparing peaches with cotton finds that peaches pay best because land that will net $25 to the acre in peaches would not net more than five  410 bales.  In other words it takes better land in make cotton than will grow peaches profitably.  The best peaches are made on the ridges and hillsides and not in the valleys.  Light soils highly cultivated make the best peaches.  Mr. Stuckey is competent to make such comparison as he has made somewhat unusual crops of cotton on small plots.  On one 2  1/2 acre lot he made five 450 bales.  Mr. Stuckey has had very sound fruit as the growing of Ridge Spring generally have.  They are not troubled with unsound fruit.

Some Remarkable Yields

Messrs. M. W. Watson and Sons are experienced and successful growers of peaches plums, asparagus and Astracan apples. As with nearly all the other fruit raisers, peaches are their principal crop.  They have in bearing eight acres and have 35 more acres of Elbertas, two years old.  It is to be judged by this that they are believers in the value of Elbertas. 

             This firm has had some remarkable yields.  Three years ago they gathered 832 crates of peaches from 117 trees.  When it is remembered that a crate holds about three pecks.  It is seen that this average was about five bushels to the tree.  Estimating the new profit at 50 cents to the crate, the net average profit  per tree was about $3.50. 

            This year from 150 trees they have already gathered 200 crates and will gather about 300 more crates.  The net profit of 50 cents a crate is about what Messrs. M. W. Watson and Sons have found to be correct.

            From apples they have found the net profit to be more per crate, but not so much per acre.  The net profit per crate from apples is about 50 cents.  Charleston has been found to be the best market for apples and the Red Astracans find ready sale there.

            Messrs. M. W. Watson and Sons have three acres in Asparagus and their profits from this has been about $60 an acre.  They expect to plant more asparagus as their results from it have been gratifying.  A striking feature of asparagus shipments is that bleached grass sells best in the south and green grass in the north.  The experts say the green brass is the best.  In the larger markets the bleached grass will bring $3.50 a dozen bunches against $9 a dozen for the green grass.  

            This firm has been very successful with plums.  The average yield from the plums is about two and a half crates to the tree.

            Messrs M. W. Watson and Sons are in accord with the prevailing opinion in that the successful fruit raiser of the future is he who takes care of his trees, but so far their trees have given then little trouble as compared to their neighbors.  They have never had to spray their trees.  They attribute this to the fact that their orchard is far from other orchards and most of their bearing trees are old.  On their young orchard they expect to spray thoroughly.

A Crate Factory

            Mr. J. W. Seigler is the proprietor of the only crate and basket factory in this section.  His factory has a capacity of 400 complete crates a day. A complete crate is the crate itself with a dividing rack and six baskets.  Mr. Seigler finds it somewhat difficult to get sufficient quantities of the right kinds of woods for crate making.  Poplar and sweet gum are the best kind but pine is also used.  The making of the crates and baskets is a simple process.   The logs of pine , sweet gum or poplar are cut to convenient lengths for handling and are then put in steam vats where they are thoroughly steamed for from five to 24 hours.  They are then put in the veneering machine, which is like a turning machine, and the veneering comes off in long strips which is then cut to proper widths and lengths and the baskets and crates made in easy fashion.  A basket will hold not quite a half peck and the six baskets to the crate will hold scarcely three pecks.

            Mr. Seigler makes all the asparagus boxes that are used at Ridge spring but his factory cannot supply more than about one third the peach boxes needed.

            Mr. Seigler also plants fruit.  He has about 1,000 to 1,200 trees of 15 to 20 varieties.  He is shipping fruit from about the last of May till the middle of August.  He has had the best results from Greensboro and Elberta varieties.

A Successful Fruit Grower

Mr. R. M. Asbill who is with T. E Edwards and Co. is not an extensive planter of fruit but he has the reputation on knowing a great deal about the business and of growing very fine fruit.

            He was about the first man in Ridge Spring to spray his trees.  He used kerosene and water at first but expects to try other mixtures.  He has four acres in five varieties of peaches: Tillotsons, St Johns, Mountain Rose, Crawfords  and Elbertas.  He has found them all profitable.  His shipments commence about June 20th and end about July 25th.

            Mr. Asbill does not think an orchard can exist without spraying but does not find spraying beneficial except in the killing of insects.  In spraying he commences at the bop of the tree and comes down so as to gauge the amount for each tree.  (the paper was folded at this point and is hard to read)  No more than necessary is to be used so little is allowed to reach the roots.  He thinks a solution of lime, sulphur and salt a better spray than the simple kerosene and water.

            Mr. Asbill does not allow a peach stone or a rotten peach to remain in his orchard.  He believes in clean culture and every third year sows peas in the orchard.  He cuts off the hay  and plows the stubble under.  He plows as close to the trunk of the tree as the plow will go without injury  to the tree. He has the earth pulled away from the roots of the tree in November and about April 20th (or 30th) the trees are hilled with a hoe.  The pulling away of the earth in the fall keeps the tree clear of borers and putting the earth back in the spring protects the roots from the sun.

Three years ago Mr. Asbill made a net profit from his four acres of $550. Two years ago a hail storm nearly stripped his trees and his net profits went down to $185.  Last year he cleared $650 and this hear he will make about a$350.  Of course these figures do not take into consideration fruit used by the family for cutting, preserving, canning and giving away. As a matter of fact wagon loads of fruit are given away each year b the growers of Ridge Spring to their friends and neighbors. Practically one may have all the fruit be will gather.