Show EDITORIAL LETTER fifteen years does not seem to be a very long time but in a western community when the energy and the enterprise of a thoroughly progressive people are arc exercised marvels can be accomplished fifteen years ago the writer visited the grand valley as a young man just out of the college and anxious to see what the possibilities were here at that time the people were just beginning to plant trees out from grand junction about one and a half or two miles dr smith planted an orchard of apple trees and so thrifty did they grow and so profitable did they prove that thousands of acres were soon planted at that time we wondered at the courage ot of a people who could plant apple trees on land that appeared so barren and desolate today we marveled at the courage of people who were willing to pay and do pay 1500 an acre tor for the grand valley lands 1500 an acre brother utah farmer and as we write this we can see the smile of derision and while you are smiling we will go on and tell you the whole truth up at palisade some thirteen miles from grand junction a peach orchard sold a short time ago for per acre I 1 passed through a number of peach orchards there the owners of which had refused offers of irom 2000 to per acre because they found these lands giving a good profit on the valuation the little town of palisade is certainly a thing of beauty and a loy forever miles and miles of peach trees all pruned uniformly cultivated perfectly sprayed intelligently the ruit fruit thinned judiciously and along the roadside a beautiful farm home nicely located in behind a stretch of closely cut lawn every farm Is named and a neat bulletin board at the entrance to the farm g gives the name of the farm and of the owner er the driveway drive way is sprinkled each day the farmer has the rural FF free rr ee ee delivery of his mail lie he nas has his te telephone c and his electric lights I 1 I 1 had a delightful conversation with a young man a college graduate who owns three anda and a halt half acres of peaches and he says enough it if a man can clear up or an acre on an orchard what need has he be for more we noticed that it is all fruit no alfalfa no sugar beets or grains but just fruit and we could not help but wonder where their orchards are to got get their food after a while because you know dr widtsoe soe told we utah farmers a long iong time ago about the hungry orchard over here in the grand valley it is not like it is in our own utah valleys where we have the alfalfa and feed the dairy cow and the horses ana make the manure but there its all fruit palisade is the peach section or this district they dont grow many apples there A high bluff just to the north and a wide canyon to the east gives the heat and the breeze to ward off the frost and with them the help of the smudge pot they get the crop right along every year after luncheon we went out to the edge of the town and looked down over a little valley and saw a solid wack acres of peach trees they call it vineland A rare view and one that will linger in my minds eye for a long time to come and oh how I 1 did wish that our utah farmers could come out here and catch the spirit of this thin thing of course I 1 know of the marvelous accomplishments at brigham city and of uie the glories ot of provo dench bench I 1 know ot of the splendid orchards out there in davis county at clearfield and of 0 the famous weber valley and dear bear river fruit farms but wo we in utah gotten to sether zether yet organized appreciated what we have we dont want to boom our land but we want to go into this thing there are thousands of acres of just as good lands lanas in salt lake county as the best lands in the grand valley tor for we wa have been een talking about the choice lands here and said much about dr nitrogen fixation lands over here we spent another day down in the bottom of 0 the valley and found apple orchards by the score where the water is coming near the surface and the trees are dying dr He addin of the college here says it Is an excess of nitrogen rna end spraying with lead armenali arse nale does it but over in utah we ct call all it just plain alkali thousands of acres here will have to be drained but we believe that the same indomitable courageous spirit that has characterized these people from the beginning will guide them safely through this menace tomorrow we go down to dieta another famous fruit section and then by stage to monticello il the home of one of 0 the state experimental I 1 dry farms deseret farmer |