FRUIT INTERESTS OF THE STATE. 
21 
Animas with 200 acres and La Plata with 300 acres, and 
I am advised that in all of these Counties the area is be¬ 
ing extended. 
In the San Luis Valley the small fruits are success¬ 
fully cultivated, and in some places the hardier varieties 
of apples are doing well; but, owing to the altitude, which 
is 7,500 feet, and to the short seasons, late spring frosts 
and cold nights, it is doubtful if any extended culture of 
tree fruits will be possible. In the valleys of La Plata 
County, fruit culture is attracting much attention. The 
climate admits the culture of the more tender fruits, and 
.those who have planted orchards are meeting with success. 
The express shipments from Durango for this season aggre¬ 
gate 80,374 pounds, a sufficient indication that the fruit 
industry is becoming an important one. Mr. S. W. Car¬ 
penter writes, regarding Montezuma County, that “ the 
first planting was done in 1887. The present area in fruit 
is about seventy-five acres in all. All the fruits grown 
/ 
anywhere in Colorado seem to do well here, so far'as I can 
judge.” 
From the observations and collected facts embodied in 
the foregoing, it would appear that the fruit industry of 
our State is already an important one; that it has been 
developed within a comparatively short time, and that it 
is each year assuming greater proportions. It must not 
be understood, however, that our fruit growers meet with 
no discouragements, but I may safely say that the diffi¬ 
culties encountered are no greater than in other fruit 
growing regions. Here, as elsewhere, the measure of suc¬ 
cess is in most cases in direct proportion to the care and 
attention bestowed upon the trees. Some men succeed, 
others fail, and most failures can be traced to a lack of 
care or to errors in judgment. In all localities east of the 
mountains there is yet entire freedom from fungus diseases, 
with the exception of the occasional appearance of plum 
