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Show OL'il DIXIE. i: i:i:tap.y v.t;h,ht, or the STAT K l:OAIIl) OK IiOii'l'U II.-TUI:E. II.-TUI:E. V.TUTliS OF W.v-H-l.NUIUS i:U.TVS l"OS-SIlill.ITir.s. l"OS-SIlill.ITir.s. Tribune, Now Year edition. Nut only the nun-resident but likewise like-wise many who dwell in Utah are unaware un-aware of the specially favored sections lying in the southwest and southeast corners of the State, namely Washington Washing-ton and Grand counties. "Lying between be-tween thirty-seven and thirty-nine degrees de-grees north latitude, it would" seem that other conditions must account for the wonderful productions found it those counties. Doubtless the environments, equally with the soil ingredients, make the proper conditions for the development develop-ment of the luscious semi-tropical fruits in ''Utah's Dixie." Eying just over the rim of the basin of the famed Lake Bonneville, where the earth seems to tip toward the Gulf of California, Washington county is spared from the chilling blasts of the north winds and revels in the smiles of old Sol and the mild breath of the peaceful waters to the south. There live the almond, fig and pomegranate in sweet immunity from zero blasts, and the cotton plant rewards the toiler each year. The most tender sorts of foreign grapes are certain cer-tain to yield bountifully and to reach that state of perfection requisite to the production of the finest raisin. Peaches and apricots there grow to such perfection per-fection and store up the saccharine to such extent as to render them incomparably incom-parably superior to any produced in other parts of the United States. All these productions coming to maturity six weeks ahead of the season in northern north-ern Utah, puts ''Dixie" on an equal footing with California in the matter of early marketing, while the quality of the Washington county product is superior in every instance. Large areas of choicest fruit lands are yet untouched in the vicinity of Santa Clara, Toqucrville, and on the famous La Virkin bench along the Rio Virgen, while to the south, extending to the Arizona State line, the thousands of acres of similar soil only await the magic touch of water and intelligent human effort to yield untold wealth in varieties and quality of fruits une-qualed une-qualed elsewhere on the American continent. With railway communication, it is within the range of possibilities that Washington county may yet supply the world each year with two thousand carloads of the fruits that will successfully success-fully rival the choicest California productions. pro-ductions. Because of the unique conditions and wondefrul possibilities found in Washington Wash-ington county, as noted above, the peo- ple of that section asked and received from the last Legislature an appropriation appropria-tion of $6,000 for a horticultural experiment experi-ment farm to be conducted by the State Board of Horticulture. In conformity with the lawmaking the appropriation, a tract of forty acres lying near the Virgin river, in the vicinity of St. George, Washington county, has been selected as a site for the experiment farm. The law contemplates that experiments ex-periments shall be conducted to determine deter-mine the most desireable varieties of fruit, best methods of culture and best systems of packing, drying, evaporating and marketing orchard products. The preliminary work of locating the farm and securing title having been accomplished, accom-plished, active operations on the experiment ex-periment farm will commence during January, 1900. The citizens of Washington Wash-ington county rightfully expect great good to spring from the work of the experiment farm in their midst as the individual fruit-grower may benefit by the experiments which he could not afford to conduct for himself. Were the orchard products of Utah one hundred fold greater than at present, pres-ent, competition among buyers would bring better prices to the producer. If California can grow fruits and export the same to all parts of the civilized world, there is every reason to believe that Utah, producing a better quality of the same fruits and being one thousand thous-and miles nearer to the centers of consumption, con-sumption, can successfully compete in the markets of the world. |
