THE DESERT AND THE ROSE 45 



gone up!" One learn through the passing of many 

 Springs to rest undisturbed by such outcries; and 

 presently even the most hysterical compose them- 

 selves and find that in at least seven or eight cases 

 out of ten no harm has been done. Here and there 

 one lights on a newcomer who turns a deaf ear to 

 calamity howlers and having raised a peach orchard 

 waxes eloquent in praise of the unusually fine 

 flavor, size and beauty of the Mesilla Valley peach. 

 And well he may; for though apple and pear or- 

 chards are fruitful and remunerative, they come 

 into bearing later than the peach, and lack also the 

 distinctive traits of the Valley peach which won 

 laurels for itself all over the West, even to bearing 

 home the Gold Medal from the Chicago World's 

 Fair. But with the passing of the great orchard- 

 ists passed also the fame of the Valley peach ; sel- 

 dom is it to be seen now in its old time perfection. 

 When I arrived in the Mesilla Vallev there ex- 

 isted several noteworthy orchards of this fruit, one 

 in particular beinga"show"place,withshadeddrives 

 for the enjoyment of strangers within its gates. 

 There are no such places now. One orchard I visit- 

 ed contained about one hundred acres, and shipped 

 from eighteen to thirty-five carloads of fancy fruit 

 per season to eastern markets. The thinning of this 

 tvpical orchard had provided employment for some 

 fortv or more men, and the pruning was also an ex- 

 tensive affair. One heard of trees in bearing when 

 a quarter of a centurv old. and I mvself have seen 

 twelve year old trees cut down to the fork, renew 

 their youth and with it their productiveness. Soil 



