A Flurry in Fruit. .
. Peaches Rivaling the Weather as a Pinehurst Product. . . New Orchards Coming
into Being Every Week and Still Greater Developments Promised for the Immediate
Future
Preparations that are being made at the Garran Hill Siding
one mile West of the Carolina Hotel, to ship 15,000 crates of Elberta and
Georgia Bell peaches to the Northern markets next June have brought the sudden
realization that a big business has literally grown up while nobody was
looking.
The endless pageant of parties on horse-back from the
village give evidence that the colony has already discovered the wonderful
display made by 50,000 trees in full bloom—a sea of crimson as brilliant and
magnificent. The commercial aspects of the affair has engaged the attention of
the golf-sheviki.
The original orchard in this vicinity was planted by J.G.
Ehrenhard of New York, a peach grower of experience, owning large acreage in
Georgia. He planted about 120 acres at what is known as the old Linden place. This
Spring they come into their first bearing. But they were never destined to bear
for him. He was offered $35,000 for them by J.R. Page and Ralph W. Page, took
his profit and proceeded to lay plans for another 600 acres he had acquired a
mile away. The Pages seem in a fair way to be in the same boat. Arthur Newcomb,
who knows more about land values than any man in Pinehurst, bought 20 acres of
trees and 150 acres of land adjoining for $12.000, and the owners of the famous
Huttenhayer orchard at Southern Pines, which is said to be the best paying
orchard in the South, and who are certainly a judge of such matters, piled in
and took 50 acres of this for $15,000. They sold 20 to C.T. Crocker of
Fitchburg, who has an extensive place on the outskirts of the town, at $320 an
acre.
A little inquiry developed why local peach growers were
paying such good round figures for landscape. The books of the Huttenhauer
orchard, now owned by the Highland Terrace Orchard Company, show that on 12
acres of trees they cleared $8,000 profit last year, and that is only a little
above the average for the last 10 years. To compare with this we have the
audited statements of the Carolina Company up the road a little way for 10
years. These show a net profit paid stockholders of something over $100 a year
per acre for the last eight years.
Probably such hard facts as these explain why Mr. Manice has
just concluded the purchase of the 1,000 or more acres of the Mack plantation
between here and Jackson Springs, and has engaged George Ross, Roger Derby’s
old manager, to prepare to put out 250 acres of trees this coming fall.
Meantime S.B. Chapin has taken on another 1,000 acres on the
railroad near West End.
From the point of view of the fruit business, however, the
most important development is probably the enterprise entered into near West
End by Mr. Hutt. Hutt is a well known authority on fruit culture, and was the
authority employed by the Department of Agriculture at Raleigh. His brother is
the manager of the Carolina Company. Backed by ample capital he has selected a
site near West End, which he has purchased within the month. There are 800
acres of it, and he intends to develop it in peaches. Work is already under
way.
The argury of this enterprise lies in the fact that Mr. Hutt
knows every location between here and Canada, and as much as any man alive
about commercial fruit growing. If he selects this place, it is for a reason. The
reason satisfies him. It satisfies the rest of us. Perhaps it is the
acknowledged fact that Sandhill peaches have brought an average of from 50
cents to a dollar a carrier more for the same varieties of peaches than have
been obtained by the famous Georgia orchards these last few years.
To continue the story of the Garren Hill Siding, one mile
from the Carolina. Not only the 120 acres of the Ehrehart orchard will ship
from there this year—the biggest packing house in North Carolina will be under
construction in a few days but H.G. Waring has 25 acres in bearing, Charlie
Crocker has a good hundred, the Pinehurst Orchard Company has another hundred,
and Charlie Mason and Trumbull Dana have 25 each to swell the total. This does
not include 200 acres of one-year trees that will come over the top next
Spring.
When all these are in full bearing it will take 150 cars at
least to handle the output. This will be a busy neighborhood.
It is too soon to say whether we are on the eve of that
great development which is certainly shortly inevitable. But ii is known that a
large concern has brought 4,000 acres running from Pinebuff to the
Pinehurst-Aberdeen road, including nearly 900 acres of developed farm land, at
something over $50 an acre. They say it is for development. If it be for
development in peaches, then the day has come.
The residents of the colony have taken a good deal of
interest in the working up of this industry. The Elberta Company, with 120
acres coming into its first bearing next year, was largely contributed to here.
The Marston Company at Marston, nearby, is a Pinehurst promotion, and
Stuyvesant LeRoy has bought two small orchards within the month.
No comments:
Post a Comment