As William Harpe Dean sees it, money grows on trees in
Western North Carolina. Mr. Dean, a member of the staff of the Country
Gentlemen, has visited the principal orchard regions of the United States,
carefully assessing their advantages and disadvantages. And therefore when he
says that, if he were planting an apple orchard, he would plant it here, the
verdict cannot be set aside on the grounds of bias due to local pride and
enthusiasm.
Mr. Dean is careful to explain that his conclusion is based
on facts and not sentiment. His article, “Where I could plant my orchard,” in
the current issue of the Country Gentleman, begins as follows:
“At the very outset I want to say that my choice location
for planting an orchard would be governed entirely by practical considerations.
Sentiment would play absolutely no part in it. I should select a region where I
knew the soil was an apple soil, where I knew the climate was an apple climate,
where water and air drainage were conducive to crop infurance, where rainfall
was abundant and where, in addition to the region’s demonstrated ability to
produce fruit of first quality, there existed ample markets which could be
reached without dividing my income on a 50-50 basis with railroads in return
for their hauling my crop clear across the continent.
“And this section of my choice is Western North Carolina
which, after careful study of its assets and liabilities, appeals to me as a
young man’s country merely waiting for enough young men to make it famous as
any horticultural region in America.”
On several trips to the mountain sections of this State,
Dean found 20 counties which met his tests for what he calls “a young man’s
apple land,” with soil, climate and market opportunities requisite for success.
He does not mean to say that you should plant apple trees in any field you come
to, or on the summit of the high peaks. Orchards are to be adapted to the
location more carefully than most other crops. If you would have a virtual
guarantee against freezes, plant in a thermal belt.
When Mr. Dean has discovered about the possibilities for orcharding
in Western North Carolina leaves this section without excuse for the conditions
which make it possible for apple growers in the Northwest to ship their
products across the continent for sale here. And what Mr. Dean has learned is
becoming common knowledge. Either through the foresight of Western North
Carolinians or of those in other states who take Dean’s advice, this region
will some day not distant dominate the apple orchards of the South west.
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