TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIOATORS. 



81 



ershave been consuming potatoes grown in Scotland 

 or Germany, and paying for them at the rate of 

 nearly two bushels of wheat for one of potatoes. If 

 all these conditions were irremediable, the outlook for 

 American agriculture would not be the most hopeful, 

 but THE AGE believes they may be easily remedied, 

 and only require to that end that American farmers 

 shall conduct their business on the same business-like 

 plane that characterizes the transactions of the mer- 

 chant, the manufacturer or the professional man; and 

 THE AGE is in the field to bear a hand in helping him 

 to attain these ends. 



CAN WE GROW COFFEE IN THE UNITED STATES? 



A number of horticultural writers allege the pos- 

 sibility of producing coffee in commercial quantities 

 in some parts of the United States. It is questionable, 

 however, whether the climatic conditions obtaining in 

 any part of this country are such as to give reason- 

 able ground for the hope of ultimate success in coffee 

 culture. The only sections of country of probable 

 utility in this connection are found along the Pacific 

 coast in Southern California and a narrow belt in 

 southern Arizona, with the possible addition of a 

 limited area in the interior desert region between 

 San Bernardino, California, and Yuma, Arizona, in 

 the neighborhood of Indio or Salton, along the line 

 of the Southern Pacific railroad. The coffee tree will 

 not endure severe frosts at any stage of its growth, 

 nor hot sunshine during the first two or three years 

 after planting. "Frostless belts," so-called, are quite 

 numerous in the United States, if we may believe the 

 advertisements of the various land companies. As a 

 matter of fact, however, the frostless areas of the 

 United States are exceedingly limited. The southern 

 coast of Florida may show some localities exempt 

 from frost, though the low coast lands in such regions 

 are not regarded, in coffee producing countries at 

 least, as suitable for the growth of that berry. 



But it is not wholly a question of climate. Were 

 other conditions favorable, it is to be doubted whether 

 the cost of labor in the United States would permit 

 of coffee culture in competition with Brazil, Central 

 America, Mexico and other coffee-yielding countries. 

 While much of the work of preparation for market is 

 done by machinery, yet the amount of hand labor 

 involved in picking the berries, assorting and other 

 operations is so great that at present prices the cost 

 would be wholly prohibitory of any profit to the 

 grower. It is so very desirable, however, that we 

 should produce our own supply of coffee, that experi- 

 ments should be continued in all sections of the 

 country offering reasonable hope of success. It is 

 the largest item in our long list of annual imports, 

 and last year reached nearly one hundred and forty 

 million dollars. It is thus seen what an enormous 



industry might be developed were conditions favor- 

 able. The Arizona and California experiment sta- 

 tions might well undertake a line of observations in 

 this connection with a view to determine with some 

 certainty whether or not the coffee tree may be made 

 to thrive commercially in the United States. 



FARM NOTES. 



As long ago as 1890 the butter yield of the United 

 States was about 600,000 tons. Of this amount it is 

 estimated that 300,000,000 pounds were unfit for food 

 and were utilized as grease for machinery or other 

 purposes. Good butter always commands a good 

 price and farmers through the irrigated regions may 

 easily produce alfalfa, from which the best results 

 may he expected as a butter producer. The alfalfa 

 field should have a place on every irrigated farm. 



ADVANCED dairymen find that a herd of say sixty 

 cows that will yield 300 pounds of butter each that 

 will sell for $90, and which cost about $3 per month 

 each to keep, will prove more profitable than a herd of 

 200 cows producing 200 pounds each of 20 cent butter 

 and which cost $30 per year each. It will always pay 

 best to keep the best cows and take the utmost care in 

 their food and shelter. 



WHATEVER may be said of the orange, the lemon, 

 the fig, the prune or the peach, the fact remains that 

 the apple has thus far been found the most useful 

 American fruit. The consumption of apples is in- 

 creasing in this country, and the production of good 

 winter varieties is not yet up to the demand at reason- 

 able prices. This year the apple crop is a very short 

 one, and prices in many places are beyond the ability 

 of the masses to pay, hence they cannot eat apples. 



A LATE report from the Riverside (Cal.) Water 

 Company shows that the canals, ditches and pipe 

 lines which have created that wonderful oasis in the 

 desert, are now valued at more than $1,000,000. The 

 principal products of Riverside are oranges, lemons 

 and raisins, but there is abundant opportunity to pro- 

 duce many other fruits, and a number of manufact- 

 uring plants should thrive in this remarkable colo- 

 nial settlement. 



IN planting orchards of any kind the utmost care 

 should be exercised in the selection of the trees as 

 well as the site of the orchard. It should be remem- 

 bered that an orchard is or should be a fixture. Mis- 

 takes made in its establishment cannot easily be 

 corrected. Expense saved in buying inferior trees is 

 money wasted, and planting trees on poor land or in 

 exposed places should be avoided. The very best 

 land for the purpose should be occupied by the or- 

 chard. Other things being equal a gentle slope, insur- 

 ing perfect drainage, is the best site for an orchard. 

 A steep hillside may often be found better than a flat 

 tract, especially if not well drained. 



