Article ID: CBB001421793

“Where Dollars Grow on Trees”: The Promise and Reality of Irrigated Farming in Central Washington, 1890--1910 (2014)

unapi

Washington's orchard output grew dramatically after the arrival of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railways in 1885 and 1893, respectively. The railroads and local real estate boosters promoted central Washington's desert as an orchard paradise, "where dollars grow on trees," but the reality was far different. While prospective growers had been told that lush orchards were a simple product of nature, irrigated farming required a large input of capital, a high degree of horticultural expertise, and lots of hard work. The conflict between nature and the manmade landscape was evident in the efforts of growers. Instead of being a place of easy wealth, novice orchardists were often frustrated by their new landscape and the pressure to conform to industrialized methods. Although the Washington apple industry was ultimately successful, many growers struggled and failed due to lack of capital and expertise.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001421793/

Similar Citations

Article Carmona, Juan; Simpson, James; (2012)
Explaining Contract Choice: Vertical Coordination, Sharecropping, and Wine in Europe, 1850---1950 (/isis/citation/CBB001320068/)

Book Bromyard & District Local History Society, ; (2007)
A Pocketful of Hops: Hop Growing in the Bromyard Area (/isis/citation/CBB001201103/)

Article White, Chantel E.; Chesson, Meredith S.; Schaub, R. Thomas; (2014)
A Recipe for Disaster: Emerging Urbanism and Unsustainable Plant Economies at Early Bronze Age Ras an-numayra, Jordan (/isis/citation/CBB001422007/)

Book Holland, Peter; (2013)
Home in the Howling Wilderness: Settlers and the Environment in Southern New Zealand (/isis/citation/CBB001422258/)

Article Ott, Daniel; (2014)
Producing a Past: McCormick Harvester and Producer Populists in the 1890s (/isis/citation/CBB001320831/)

Book Anja Timmermann; (2014)
Indigo. Die Analyse eine ökonomischen Wissensbestandes im 18. Jahrhundert (/isis/citation/CBB633173780/)

Book Sara DeLuca; (2015)
The Crops Look Good: News from a Midwestern Family Farm (/isis/citation/CBB622804532/)

Article Pini, Barbara; Panelli, Ruth; Dale-Hallett, Liza; (2007)
The Victorian Women on Farms Gatherings: A Case Study of the Australian “Women in Agriculture” Movement (/isis/citation/CBB001212376/)

Book Russell, Peter A.; (2012)
How Agriculture Made Canada: Farming in the Nineteenth Century (/isis/citation/CBB001421803/)

Book Adam M. Romero; (2021)
Economic Poisoning: Industrial Waste and the Chemicalization of American Agriculture (/isis/citation/CBB940384528/)

Book Swanson, Drew A.; (2014)
A Golden Weed: Tobacco and Environment in the Piedmont South (/isis/citation/CBB001422341/)

Book Whayne, Jeannie M.; (2011)
Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South (/isis/citation/CBB001200642/)

Book Hoyle, R W; (2013)
The Farmer in England, 1650--1980 (/isis/citation/CBB001422268/)

Book Swindell, Ken; Jeng, Alieu; (2006)
Migrants, Credit and Climate: The Gambian Groundnut Trade, 1834--1934 (/isis/citation/CBB001422392/)

Article Dangerfield, David W.; (2015)
Turning the Earth: Free Black Yeomanry in the Antebellum South Carolina Lowcountry (/isis/citation/CBB001422239/)

Authors & Contributors
Anja Timmermann
DeLuca, Sara
Nicola Gabellieri
Romero, Adam
Jeng, Alieu
Swindell, Ken
Concepts
Agriculture
Farmers
Farms
Economic botany; plant cultivation; horticulture
Labor and laborers
Industrial agriculture
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
Early modern
18th century
Modern
Places
United States
England
West Africa
Middle and Near East
Arkansas (U.S.)
Gambia
Institutions
Bureau of Plant Industry (United States)
United States. Office of Indian Affairs
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment