AN EXTENSIVE APPLE ORCHARD.

Motueka Star, Volume IV, Issue 149, 23 January 1903, Page 4

AN EXTENSIVE APPLE ORCHARD.

A company composed of representative horticulturists in lowa and Missouri has been organised with a capital of one million dollars, for the planting of what is claimed to be the largest orchard in the world. This orchard is to cover 5000 acres of ground planted with 50 trees to the acre. The land for this exepiment has been chosen In Laclede County', Missouri, about 150 ■miles south west of St. Louis. This choice.has been made because of th'e discovery that apples grown in this county have taken the first prize in competition with most of the other counties in the same State, which is peculiatly adapted, both in soil and climate, to the successful growth of fruit'crops. About 1 000 acres of this land will be planted with trees next spring, and it is estimated that within six y r ears the whole of the orchard will be bearing fruit. While the main object is that of raising apples, many 7 peach and other- trees devoted to small fruit will be planted during the first y 7 ears, in order to produce an early dividend, upon the investment. The underlying principle of the company' which is undertaking this work is that co-operation of a commercial charactercan be developed under the direction of men skilled in business and horticulture, and that, if this assumption is cox-i-ect, the venture can be made more profitable than is possible from individual investments in the same line, and that, too, the chances of loss incident to such investments, when made in a small way', are not so great: It is estimated that each of the 250,000 trees to be planted on this area will produce five bushels of apples, thirs making a total y 7 ield of 1,250,000 bushels, equivalent to about 500,000 barrels. It is expected that the bulk of this crop will be exported to Europe. During the fiscal year of 1901 the export of apples from the United States was 840,605 bushels, of which 794,660 were sent to the United Kingdom. As showing some of the methods to be adopted, a cold storage plant will be bu.lt in St Louis as soon as this orchard has come into bearing. This will be t le main shipping point, and it is intended that the storage plant shall have a capacity' for 150,000 bushels. Another intaiesting feature of the work is the announcement that tl\e St Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company has taken such an active interest in the plans of the company 7 that it has agreed to construct a branch of about 31 miles through the property. It will also build at frequent intervals along the line of this branch warehouses which, it is expected, will facilitate the prompt handling of the crop.