Van Ness Harwood Promoting Fig Orchards, Sept. 29, 1922

Wants Million Quarts ‘O Figs. . . New York Man Would Have Roanoke Islanders Quit Their Nets

A million dollars worth of figs sounds like a big lot to be produced on Roanoke Island, but Van Ness Harwood of 227 Broadway, New York, believes it can be done. Mr. Harwood isn’t asking anyone to undertake to produce these figs, but is making a start on them himself.

Mr. and Mrs. Harwood were in Elizabeth City this week on their return to New York, after having visited the fig orchard on Roanoke Island in which Mr. Harwood is interested. A 40-acre area jointly owned by the New York man and A.W. Drinkwater of Manteo has been successfully planted in something like 1,800 trees. By another year they will increase the number to 2,000.

The orchard of Harwood and Drinkwater will develop the possibilities of growing figs for commercial purposes in this section. If the results are successful, they will then endeavor to encourage the islanders to plant their own lands in trees. Mr. Harwood says he can handle all they can get for him. One outlet he has found provides for the disposal of a million quarts, considerably more than 30,000 bushels. The revenue from that amount of figs would beat Roanoke Island’s fishing income all hollow, for they now sell all the figs they can get at $1 to $1.25 a quart. Figs are growing in demand ever day, the country having only California and Texas to look to for its supply.

The orchard at Roanoke Island has done well considering that the trees are less than two years old. Three hundred of them bore fruit this year.

Most of the trees are native stock, such as have been producing good figs on Roanoke Island for many years, but experiments are being made with the Smyrna variety which is an ideal one for drying purposes.

In addition to the orchard of good land that has been planted out on the barren sand hills on the east side of the island. Mr. Harwood states that of all the information the Department of Agriculture hands out, it has less on figs than anything else. He says the Department has recommended that he try the Japanese persimmon down there, but he is of the opinion that figs will do better, altho he believes anything can be grown there.

He was first attracted to the island when the Wrights made their airplane flights at Kitty Hawk, where Mr. Harwood went to report the results for the New York World. At that time he was associate editor of the big Metropolitan newspaper and resigned after 25 years of newspaper work to enter the field of organization, publicity and research. Such a business he conducts under the name of Harwood Incorporated in New York City.

From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., Friday, Sept. 29, 1922> Ocracoke does have a Fig Festival every August.