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Show SHIPMENT OF 20,000 FIG TItFF.S TO WASHINGTON XH'XTV Utah's "Dixie," where a fertile soil and the sunshine of a semitropical climate combine to promote the growth of choice fruits, is soon to become be-come one of the principal fig-growing regions of the United States, if the plans of a group of farmers, headed by Horace Stayner. materialize. material-ize. As the first step in carrying out this plan a shipment of 20,000 fig trees of the ".Magnolia" variety is now en route to Cedar City via the Union Pacific railroad, and from there will be taken by truck to Washington county to he distributed among the fruit growers. The trees, two and three feet in height, were raised in Texas by the Japanese Nursery Nur-sery company. According to Mr. Stayner. the 20,-000 20,-000 trees will he sufficient to plant approximately 200 acres. At the present time there are less than ten acres of fig trees in the entire state, hut from these few acres have come fruit which has won the praise of connoisseurs con-noisseurs in all parts of the country. The shipment of young trees will reach Salt Lake Monday, and will proceed to their destination Tuesday. Plan Preserving Factory Heretofore fig raising has been rather haphazard, but from now on, according to Mr. Stayner. the growers grow-ers of the Dixie country will cooperate cooper-ate to promote the growth and distribution dis-tribution of this product. It is the plan to build a preserving factory, perhaps near St. George, within two years, when the trees to he planted this will have a chance to produce. It has been estimated that trees planted now will, in two years, be producing at the rate of $70 an acre; three years. $125 to $175 an acre, and four years. $500 to $7oO an acre. This means that in four years the 20,-000 20,-000 young trees, which as yet have not had their roots in Utah soil, will be producing new wealth for this state amounting to approximately $120,000 a year. Further value will be added when a large part of the fruit is convened into fig preserve and shipped into eastern markets. "Washington county, from Hurricane Hurri-cane to Santa Clara, can produce figs that are the equal if not the superior of any raised in the country. California Calif-ornia not excepted," Mr. Stayner says. Six acres of figs can bo raised on the water required for one acre of alfalfa, it has been found by the few-present few-present raisers of figs. , See Good Profit . So far the figs of Washington county have found but a limited market, mar-ket, but it is believed that as many as the Dixie farmers raise call be marketed at a good profit. Mr. Stayner Stay-ner says that Utah figs can he placed in the eastern market in competition with any raised in other parts of the country because of their superior quality. They are now preserved in the homes of the people In the region in which they are raised. Figs have been raised in southern Utah for fifty years or more, but their culture has never reached sizable siz-able proportions because of a lack of organized effort among the farmers. Mr. Stayner. who is a resident of Salt Lake, but who has large land holdings- in southern Utah, says be has been trying to organize the farmers for a numb'-r of years. Not only figs, but other fruits of semitropical nature are raised in Washington county, including pomegranates pome-granates and English walnuts.. Peaches, Peach-es, grapes and other ordinary fruits grow also on Dixie farms. Salt Lake Tribune. |