14 
Colorado Experiment Station 
J^DMBKR OF PLUM TREES IN EACH ORCHARD DISTRICT 
Lincoln Park 575 
East Canon 458 
Four Mile 135 
Penrose 938 
Orchard Park 383 
Florence 49 
Park Center 136 
Total trees 
2,674 
VARIETIES OF APPLE TREES GROWN 
The accompanying list of varieties of apples grown in Fremont County 
is surprisingly large, and indicates that the early planting was done with- 
out a definite knowledge of the commercial requirements, nor did they show 
what varieties would succeed. In all 90 varieties are recorded, with sev- 
eral unnamed kinds, bringing the total up to nearly 100. This large number 
is a positive drawback to the industry. The loss occasioned by worthless 
varieties is so great as to make many of the orchards unprofitable, and the 
fact that the average orchard is small (averaging 7^ acres) makes the 
presence of numerous varieties more undesirable, even were the varieties of 
commercial importance. In a limited district like this, six to eight com- 
mercial varieties are sufficient, and for individual orchards, two or three 
varieties are recommended. 
The commercial grower should have a sufficient number of trees of 
each variety to enable him to ship in carload lots, unless there is a good 
local market. The cost of spraying, harvesting, and other orchard opera- 
tions is more expensive where a large number of varieties is planted. Fur- 
ther, in shipping mixed carloads, the grower cannot obtain as high a price 
for his fruit as the shipper of straight carloads, or carloads containing a 
single variety. 
A study of the table on page 15 shows that Jonathan is the leading com- 
mercial variety, with 51,145 trees, followed in order by Winesap, 36,192; 
Ben Davis, 33,378; Rome Beauty, 9,117; Gano, 8,391, and Delicious, 7,038. 
This proportion is very much like the proportion found in the other im- 
portant fruit-growing sections of the State. Future commercial plantings 
will be made of these varieties, as experience shows that they are most 
profitable. 
Many of these mixed orchards, where the trees are healthy, could be 
made more profitable by top grafting. A few growers are doing this, but 
the majority are still retaining the worthless kinds. The orchards are, as 
a rule, strictly commercial, containing the best varieties, and are managed 
so as to bring the maximum returns. 
