An Apple Expert Bets on Newport’s Benchlands

The Newport district will take its place among the leading winter apple producing sections of the state, according to indications that point to a superior product in the opinion of leading horticulturists of the state.

Mr. E. D. Stewart, of Prosser, Wash., is at present engaged in visiting Stevens County with a view to determining by personal observation the possibilities of fruit growing in this section. He is spending several days in this vicinity and is favorably impressed with what he has seen.

Mr. Stewart yesterday visited the orchard of Chas. M. Talmadge on Silver Birch and looked over the Cedar Park Orchard Tracts now being developed by the Newport Washington Land Co. on the bench lands south and east of town. He expressed himself as more than pleased with what he had seen and said that Cedar Park Orchard Tracts presented one of the finest showings for an orchard district in the state of Washington, noted all over the world as the home of the big red apple. The trees have made an exceptionally fine growth, as good as any made in any district in the state, and did not in any way suffer from the unusually severe winter just passed. Not one of Mr. Talmadge's trees suffered, while in other well-known districts of the state the loss had been as high as fifty per cent. He was particularly pleased with the water and air drainage on Silver Birch, which he declared perfect, insuring freedom from frost. The soil is unusually retentive of moisture and with proper cultivation cannot fail to produce good results.

The altitude of this section insures freedom from the pests of districts with a lower altitude, and apples raised in this altitude are always better keepers. He is also convinced that conditions are good for cherries and pears. All of the well-known and higher-priced apples will do well here in the opinion of Mr. Stewart.

Mr. Stewart has been in the orchard business in the Yakima valley since 1892. He has served as president of the Washington State Horticultural Association, and has acquired a reputation as one of the best posted men in the business in the state. His orchard at Prosser last year netted him $625 per acre, and for the past six years has paid 10 per cent on a valuation of $4000 per acre.

The judgment of Mr. Stewart and other men from the older districts of the state, who have recently visited this section with a view to investigating orchard prospects, cannot fail to be encouraging to the men who are investing their money and devoting their time to the development of this country. The Newport Washington Land Co. last year spent in the neighborhood of $15,000 in the development of Cedar Park orchards and will spend as much this year. At present a crew of 36 men is employed, operating with a donkey engine and a gasoline stump burning outfit, clearing the land and cultivating for planting. Five thousand trees are being planted this year.

Mr. Stewart is firmly convinced that the expenditure is fully justified by results already achieved, and that the future of the district as an apple country is assured.

The success of the project means much to the town of Newport, as it is only the beginning of similar projects in this immediate vicinity and throughout the Pend Oreille valley.