FRUIT INTERESTS OF THE STATE. 
7 
Jefferson County is credited with an area of 700 acres 
devoted to fruit, a considerable portion of this being in 
young orchards not yet in bearing. In this county were 
planted some of the first orchards in the state. The early 
attempts were failures, owing mostly to the condition of 
the trees on their arrival from the long overland journey 
in wagons. A few men, holding tenaciously to the idea 
that fruit could he grown, planted again, and now the 
County can boast some of the finest orchards in the north¬ 
ern section of the State. A number of orchards now 
standing were started as long ago as 1868; these received 
additions at various times, and now they are sources of 
annual profit to their owners. Prominent among the suc¬ 
cessful fruit growers of Jefferson County are David 
Brothers, John Tobias, William Lee and Henry Lee. Mr. 
Brothers’ apple crop this season amounts to 1,000 barrels. 
A close estimate of the land occupied by fruit in 
Bowlder County in 1890 placed the area at 500 acres. 
In the spring of 1891 a large amount of planting was 
done, and the present area may be safely placed at 700 
acres, the major portion of which lies in the valley of the 
St. Vrain. In the immediate vicinity of the city of Boul¬ 
der there are some orchards, but mostly small ones. The 
attention here is mainly given to strawberries, grapes and 
other small fruits. Growers have attained marked success 
in the culture of these fruits. The plantations are nu¬ 
merous and extensive, and large quantities of fruit are 
shipped to the Denver market and to the mountain towns. 
The first introduction of fruit trees along the St. Vrain 
dates back to 1866 ; but little now remains of this first 
planting, which was made under all the adverse circum¬ 
stances with which the pioneer has to contend. Further 
plantations were made in 1870, and these formed the 
nucleus about which have grown up the now profitable 
orchards which dot the valley. As an index of this 
