, ORCHARD SURVEY OF FREMONT 
COUNTY 
J By E. P. SANDSTEN AND C. M. TOMPKINS 
^ The orchard survey of Fremont County was undertaken to ascertain 
i the present status of the industry and to enable the department to render 
j^Lich aid as would benefit the fruit growers. 
Idle value of a survey of this kind depends upon the accuracy of the 
j information obtained and the completeness of the survey. On this account, 
; it was decided to visit every orchard and obtain the information both by 
personal inspection and thru information obtained from the owner. With 
jdiis accurate data, properly tabulated, the department has information 
which otherwise could not have been obtained — information that will be 
aseful in the solution of some of the local problems confronting the grower. 
( It is the intention to make a similar survey in every fruit section of 
•^the State. To make the data of continuous value it should be kept up to 
idate so that changes which may occur can be properly recorded. Condi- 
j|tions which obtained ten years ago do not obtain today, and conditions 
j which exist today will not exist ten years hence. 
5; Fremont County, or, more properly, the Canon City fruit district, is 
I the most important and most highly developed fruit district in Eastern 
I Colorado. This development is due to the favorable location of the dis- 
trict; first, with reference to available water for irrigation; second, to the 
[sheltered situation of the valley; third, to the soil conditions which are, on 
I the whole, favorable *or could be made favorable by drainage and by a 
better system of irrigation. 
The valley is sheltered on three sides and open only to the south. 
The Arkansas River flows approximately thru the middle of the valley, 
'which has sufficient fall to provide good soil and air drainage. The winter 
temperature and frost conditions are, on the whole, favorable, as will be 
' seen by the accompanying meteorological data which is taken from the rec- 
ords of the United States Weather Bureau. 
^ The fruit district is rather limited and confined to the valley proper 
and to the small, adjacent mesas. It lies in a compact body, well served by 
two systems of railroad. The only outlying district of importance is the 
Penrose or Beaver Creek district. This district is of recent development 
and is located on a secondary mesa on Beaver Creek, a tributary to the 
jArkansas River. 
The Canon City district proper is the oldest developed fruit section 
mn the Eastern Slope. The pioneer in fruit growing is Captain B. F. 
, Rockafellow, who planted one of the first orchards in the valley, and to 
whom much credit should be given in the way of trying out varieties and 
experimenting, preparatory to the commercial development of later years. 
