CENTRAL POINT, March 25.--(Special correspondence.)--Here is the heart of the Rogue River Valley, and the town of Central Point is the shipping station for thousands of boxes of splendid fruit which goes to all parts of the world. Nothing is more delicious than a really first-class apple or pear, and around Central Point are orchards which produce fruit selling at the very highest prices in New York and London. If a California orange will bring 5 cents in London, why should not one of the magnificent Spitzenberg or Newtown Pippin apples of this valley do the same, and in reality they do. There are about 120 apples in a box of these finer qualities, and these sell in London, at auction, for about 4 cents each. After paying freights, commissions, etc., they net the growers here $1.25 and $1.50 per box.
    The level lands adapted to fruit growing in this vicinity are estimated to aggregate 30,000 acres, of which 20,000 acres are apple lands and the other 10,000 adapted to various other fruits. At the present time the total acreage of orchards in the vicinity of Central Point is about 1200, of which 700 acres, or over one half, are not yet in bearing. The first large orchard here was that of the Olwell brothers, of 200 acres, and it was nine years after the trees were planted before a crop was gathered, but every year since 1898 this orchard has produced 20,000 boxes of choice apples, which means an annual income of about $20,000. The success of these gentlemen and others in Rogue River Valley has given an impetus to the business of apple growing, and right now more new apple orchards are being planted than ever before. I met here Mr. L. W. Cox, who came to Central Point last year from Colorado, and he said: "I thought we could raise fine apples in Colorado, but since seeing and sampling the fruit of the Rogue River Valley I yield to it the palm, as they surpass anything I ever saw in abundant yield, high coloring, exquisite flavor and immense size."
    There are about 80,000 acres in the valley here, but all land is not adapted to growing fruit. The experience of the fruitgrowers here has taught them to distinguish between the good and bad fruit lands, and as a consequence the prices vary greatly. You can buy land for as low as $10 an acre, but it is not fruit land. You can buy good apple land for $30 an acre, but it is six or seven miles from the railroad. If you want the very best land, in the best locality for growing apples, you will be called upon to pay about $100 an acre.
    The number of trees planted to the acre varies from 50 to 80, and an apple orchard comes into bearing in from six to 10 years, depending upon the character of the soil to a great extent. Taking eight years on an average, and figuring cost of your land and interest on the money, also cost of the pruning, spraying and cultivating an acre of fruit trees, it will have cost you at least $300 when in full bearing.
    From inquiry among the fruitgrowers I have learned that an average yield per acre of choice apples one year with another is 150 boxes, and if these net $1 a box the income from an acre of apples would be $150 a year. The cost of pruning spraying, cultivating and interest on cost of each acre of bearing orchard will amount to $50 an acre annually, leaving as profit over all expenses $100 an acre. This may seem an exaggerated statement of profits, but I have taken only an average yield and a fair price, which has ruled the past six years for the best qualities. Mr. J. W. Merritt, a well-known business man of Central Point, had a crop from a three-acre orchard which netted him over and above all expenses, including interest, $1200, or $400 an acre, and he sold the apples for 90¢ a box.
    Supposing ten acres of the very best and most accessible land be purchased here and set out to fruit. It will cost at the end of eight years $3000. The first crop will net $1000 above all expenses, and in three years the farm will have been paid for out of the income. I was told of a case where a gentleman bought a fruit farm near Talent which was in full bearing, and the first year's crop following fully paid for the farm.
    Let us suppose the 20,000 acres of estimated fruit land in this section were divided into 10-acre tracts. It would give 2000 families each an income of $1000 a year, and the total gross income to the people on these farms would be $3,000,000 a year. The amount of capital invested to secure this influx of money into Jackson County would be $6,000,000.
    That the profits of apple-growing is not a new discovery is evidenced by the large number of orchards now being set out in this locality.
    A. P. Armstrong, of the Portland Business College, has already set out 10 acres of the Armstrong homestead farm, which he now owns, to Newtowns and Spitzenbergs, with quite a block of Jonathans included, and has made arrangements to put out the balance of the ranch another year.
    E. B. Hanley, of Dalton trail fame, has the ground laid out for planting 60 acres of the rich alluvium in his portion of the old Hanley ranch, two miles west, to the three varieties of apples named above, and will plow up a first-class setting of 2-year-old alfalfa in order to set the fruit. As this ranch is one of the best alfalfa locations in the entire county, this gives a pointer as to the views of a very successful business man as to the future of the fruit industry here. Adjoining his place is the young orchard of Arthur J. Weeks. 100 acres set to winter apples and winter pears, also on a portion of the old Hanley holdings. Mr. Weeks formerly brought to maturity one of the best orchards now bearing to the southward of this district, and sought the deep soil of the Central Point district for his latest venture. He is one among the most thorough horticulturists in the valley, and among other modern methods is tile draining to a greater extent than is usual in this county. He, too, will plow up magnificent alfalfa in order to get the soil he wishes for apples.
    Miss Alice Hanley has also set a fine orchard on the western slope of Hanley Butte, which appears to be also adapted to apple culture. All of these orchards will find a shipping point here. To the south, in the same alluvial belt, is the young pear orchard and Jonathan apple orchard of C. E. Stewart, who will set the entire Mingus tract of 160 acres within the next year or two, he being on the road leading to Medford. Several farmers have made arrangements for setting winter pears and apples in the Heber Grove section, which includes Mr. Stewart's orchard, notably J. A. Thomas and J. N. Thomas.
    West of the Hanley ranch, on the hill road from Jacksonville to Central Point, occur the fine young orchards of C. Elmore, A. Boosey, George Clark, J. M. Hurley, J. W. Corum, W. C. Leever, L. E. Van Vleet, J. H. Cochran, W. W. Scott, T. C. Law and others, all in the foothill belt, where the trees have made a wonderful development, and the fruit is noted for its high coloring and fine quality. Apple trees are rapidly supplanting the oak grubs in that section of the county.
    The entire Willow Springs belt, comprising some thousands of acres of ideal hill slopes for orcharding, and the district from which in the pioneer era the choicest fruit in the valley came, lies open for the use of progressive fruitgrowers, for some reason but a small area having as yet been devoted to orchards. This is partly owing to the fact that a considerable portion of the land has been in alfalfa, while much of it has heretofore been considered too valuable for mining purposes to be set to trees. It was in this belt that a number of Portland capitalists were last year contemplating setting a thousand-acre apple orchard as a purely commercial venture. The district, most of which is sufficient depth to produce superior fruit, will furnish homes for scores of settlers who wish to engage in apple-raising of general farming. It lies within easy distance of the Central Point, depot, and has the advantage of good winter roads.
    Adjoining the townsite on the east and north lies the famous Bear Creek bottom land, ranked among the richest in the state. But a small portion of this rich alluvial belt has as yet been devoted to apples, but it is a significant fact that all the records for phenomenal yields and fancy prices have been made by the small orchards scattered through these bottoms. Formerly it was not considered good policy to plant apple trees on rich alluvial soil, but since it has been demonstrated that the big profits come from strictly fancy four-tier apples and pears, the view pertains that nothing is too good for apples. In this bottom lie the Bennett orchard, the product of which has always been shipped from Central Point; the Norcross orchard, from which the largest returns one year with another, in the entire state, have been obtained, and the Merritt orchard, which holds the record for yield and revenue for a single crop. Within view of the townsite John Hamrick this year has set 500 trees; W. M. Holmes 500 trees last year, to be followed by as many more this season; W. J. Freeman set out 500 trees last year, and the same the present year; Beall Bros., 1300 the present year; C. C. Hall 500, all Spitzenbergs, the present season, and Henry Head, 500 trees. Forty acres in this belt, in full bearing, will mean an income better than a Congressman's, if properly cared for. The Barron ranch of 100 acres in this belt was last fall sold to a Mr. Hall from Alabama, who will this spring plant 2000 commercial trees on same. A local paper also gives the information that M. F. Hanley, who recently purchased the Ed Wilkinson place on Bear Creek, has purchased 2000 acres with which to plant the place. Between Mr. Hanley's place and Central Point lies the Prall ranch of 187 acres, for which the owner last week refused $20,000 from a party of Californians, who saw its possibilities for fruit and alfalfa. In addition to fine quality and coloring, Bear Creek bottom land yields a very large percentage of four-tier apples, the size which buyers will cross the continent to obtain. They are all labeled "strictly fancy."
    To the eastward lies the belt of country known as "Big Sticky," which produces some of the finest Newtowns which have ever gone from Jackson County to the London markets. The Heimroth orchard has always borne a very high reputation since first coming into bearing, and much of the neighboring land is now going into apple trees, I. A. Pruett alone having set 40 acres in Newtowns and Spitz trees last year. Further to the east, but still tributary to Central Point, lies the famous Bradshaw orchard, on an adobe slope, which has the advantage of subirrigation from the mountains, and which produces apples which for size and flavor almost surpass Bear Creek bottom. The orchard of G. W. Smith, on Yankee Creek, in that vicinity, has also brought in a handsome income ever since it began to bear. A number of orchards, varying from ten to 40 acres, have been set last season and this, along the slopes of the mountains in this section.
    Adjacent to the north lies the Butte Creek section, already famous for the immense onions which it annually sends out in car lots, and which has produced some of the highest grade Spitzenberg and Newtown apples which ever went to market from anywhere. Secretary Dosch, of the State Board, pronounces the onions from Butte Creek as being of a type unknown elsewhere in the world. They are certain unapproachable anywhere else in Southern Oregon. There are many tracts of land in the foothills along Butte Creek and north on the river which will produce the best class of apples and only await enterprise and development.
    In the vicinity of the Table Rocks, in full view of Central Point, lies a rich apple belt, several bearing orchards attesting the fact that it is unsurpassed in the county. The warm soil there brings trees into bearing quickly, and their yielding is simply immense. J. W. Merritt, of this place, is setting out 600 trees over there this spring. Mr. Porter, recently from Harney Valley, has a large bearing orchard, from which he reasonably expects large returns in the immediate future.
    Among other orchards which may be mentioned are the DeBar prune and apple orchard south of town; 40 acres adjoining, set by County Assessor Wilbur Jones; the Olwell Bros.' noted orchard of 160 acres, adjacent to the townsite, comprising the largest single block of Spitzenberg trees in the world; the Leever orchard, managed by S. F. Hathaway, all of which produce largely of the fruit which is making Southern Oregon famous.
    A feature which should not be lost sight of is the fact that while the apple is destined to be the great leader in the fruit line, followed by the winter pear, yet there is a very large percentage of the lighter foothill land which produces a superior article of prune, while much of the red soil of the mountain slopes is as well adapted for peach and grape culture as any portion of the Pacific Slope. Recent developments have shown us that as fine apricots can be grown here as are produced about Vacaville, in California, and it has been discovered that the prune tree can be worked over in one year's time into a producing apricot tree by top grafting process. When it is remembered that the best class of apricot orchard land about Vacaville is held, and has for many years been held, at from $1000 to $2000 per acre, this fact may become very important in the future development of Southern Oregon. There are but few parts of the known world which produce the apricot in perfection, free from sun spots or blemishes. The fruit always commands high prices. It requires altitude and freedom from spring frosts, just the conditions furnished by the higher levels of the foothill belt here. While an undeveloped industry here, it presents large possibilities.
    The following list of fruit orchards includes those already in bearing, those lately set out and those being now set out:

			Acres
	Olwell Bros.		160
	George DeBar		20
	S. Bennett		25
	M. Hanley		40
	W. H. Norcross		20
	Joseph Hoagland		8
	S. Minnick		12
	A. W. Beebe		2
	J. W. Merritt		8
	J. S. Barnett		10
	William M. Holmes		30
	Beall Bros.		40
	W. J. Freeman		27
	John Brown		5
	D. Beebe		10
	E. R. Pruett		40
	John Heimroth		30
	Henry Head		10
	W. H. Bradshaw		40
	D. Calrton		65
	T. Reilly		40
	S. B. Holmes		6
	John Daley		10
	B. R. Porter		40
	E. Dickinson		5
	J. W. Merritt		15
	Freeman Bros.		16
	C. Pfeister		34
	W. W. Scott		25
	W. T. Leever		25
	W. C. Leever		12
	J. Corum		20
	G. Sears		5
	J. Hurley		20
	A. P. Armstrong		60
	C. Elmore		10
	Ed Hanley		60
	A. Weeks		100
	Miss Alice Hanley		10
	Walsh Bros.		20
	G. W. Smith		40
	H. Cornell		10
	D. Grissom		20
	L. E. Van Vleet		15
			1215

    Choice apples, such as are raised by the orchardists who are coining money here, are shipped long distance, and the packing of the apples properly is an important consideration. This work is mostly done by girls, who earn from $1 to $3.50 per day, depending largely upon their skill. Misses Mary Pankey and Maymie Rippy, of Central Point, have a record of 99 boxes each in one day, for which they received $3.96, being the regular price of 4 cents each box. The packing season lasts from November to January. The young ladies are required to place an advertisement in each box, asking customers to report to them the condition of the fruit when received. One young lady has a $3 gold nugget, received from a gentleman in Alaska, who offered to send her another nugget if she would send him her photograph. It is quite common to receive letters from the Eastern states and England. There was consternation one day among the girls, who had taken particular pains to send their addresses in some boxes of Spitzenbergs, when they learned that the shipment was to go to China and Japan. The choicest apples are carefully wrapped in paper, are packed between layers of cardboard, and heavy paper surrounds the contents of the box. It is this care in packing which enables the grower to realize the very highest prices.
    A gentleman very truthfully said to me: "The very best kind of advertising ever done by the people of Rogue River Valley was in sending an advertisement in every box of choice apples and pears. The fact that they are choice speaks more for the country than anything else." That is all true, and yet you find the same people who advertise in that way are the very ones who will assist any good measure for further making known the resources of the country. The class of people who are making Rogue River famous are men of energy and push, and their very enthusiasm instills energy and push into the actions of others. Among such a people it is a pleasure to dwell.
    Mr. W. J. Freeman is doing business in Central Point, and did not have time to go out on the fertile lands and plant an orchard, but nevertheless he owns 16 acres of bearing prune trees which brought him in an income of $750 last year, and this is how he came to get the orchard: He bought 32 acres of land and made a contract with Mr. Norcross, a well-posted fruitman, to plant the 32 acres and care for it three years, and agreed to deed Mr. Norcross one-half the land at the end of three years. The result was that Mr. Freeman secured a good bearing orchard of prune trees with but little cost of time and money, and Mr. Norcross made a profitable bargain also. This is a hint which may be made profitable to other persons similarly situated. Buy a tract of 25 or 30 acres and have some resident here plant and care for the orchard up to bearing time, on shares.
    Central Point is on the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, only five miles from Medford, and has business houses, churches and schools, and is a desirable place of residence. The public school has an enrollment of 175, with four teachers, and a nine months' school. The principal is A. J. Hanby; assistant principal, J. A. Bosh; intermediate grade, Mrs. A. J. Hanby, and primary grade, Miss Zuda Owens.
    The residents adjacent to Central Point are agitating the establishment of a rural free delivery route, commencing at Central Point, going thence to the home ranch of Beall Bros., thence west to G. Sears' farm, thence north to the Willow Springs district, thence down to near Tolo, or Gold Run [Gold Hill?], and back to Central Point, a circuit of about 25 miles and accommodating from 80 to 100 families. it is enterprise of this kind that makes a community prosperous.
Morning Oregonian, Portland, March 28, 1903, page 14

Constructing Telephone Line

Central Point.
SPUD PARINGS GROW BIG CROP

In Days of Yore

CENTRAL POINT DISTRICT 6

Logs Fly, Railway Station Shattered
As Train and Truck Collide Friday

Fourth Graders Describe Town for Portlanders