From Lumbering to Fruit-growing 9 



Lumbering as now practised, and mining, are simply means 

 of utilizing a reserve that nature has laid by, and these 

 industries, therefore, are self-limited, and are constantly 

 moving on into unrobbed territory. Agriculture, when at 

 its best, remains forever in the same place, and gains in 

 riches with the years; but in this country it has so far been 

 mostly a species of mining for plant-food, and then a rush- 

 ing on for virgin lands. 



The first effort in an agricultural region is usually the 

 growing of the staple crops, as the grains or breadstuffs. 

 This is both because the capabilities of the country are all 

 unknown, and because such regions are far removed from the 

 markets, and must, therefore, grow such commodities as 

 can be stored or shipped long distances; and it may be 

 said, also, that the growing of these crops in a new country 

 demands comparatively little special skill. Moreover, the 

 new lands are cheap, and the supply of labor is small; 

 and grain-raising and cattle-ranging are economically 

 possible. The second development is very often a well- 

 regulated stock-raising or grazing industry. 



If the coimtry possesses special adaptabilities for fruits, 

 a man here and there will be found enlarging his orchards 

 or small-fruit plantations, and in time there is a wide- 

 spread change from general farm practices to fruit-grow- 

 ing. The growing of specialties, or perishable products, 

 or those that are essentially luxuries, demands the finer 

 skill, the more developed ideals, and the less fluctuating 

 employments of an old or at least of a well-settled country; 

 and it is in such areas, also, that the best special markets 

 are to be found. It has been a frequent experience that 

 when any area has fully committed itself to the raising 

 of any particular fruit, the business is devoted too exclu- 

 sively to one product and the individual farms may not be 



