The west shore., November 01, 1884, Page 345, Image 7

THE WEST SHORE,
315
I HOP FIELDS OP PTJYALLUP AND WHITE RIVER.
i f 111115 hop industry is nn important and growing one on
L tho Pacific Coast California, Oregon and Wash
I ington Territory harvested 40,900 bales in 1881), nnd tho
crop of the present yenr, tho statistics for which have
not yet been fully gathered, will be largoly in excess of
tliat of any previous season. This is duo to two facts -n
largely increased ncrengo nnd n high nvorngo yield per
acre. Some yards are yielding 3,000 ixmnds per aero,
nnd many others nre averaging 2,500 pounds. Tho price
of hops is regulated by the condition of tho Eastern nnd
I European crop, nnd sometimes reaches $1 per pound
I Other sensons their abundance reduces tho price to nn
I extremely low point, never, however, below tho cost of
I production, which may bo estimated at eight to ten cents
I per pound. The nverage price realized by our hop grow
$ ers during the pnst fifteen years may bo placed at twenty
1 to twenty-five cents, and the average yield por acre at
1,800 iounds. Hops nre grown in the Willamette Valley,
I in Lewis, Thurston, Yakima, Snohomish, King and Pierce
I counties, Washington Territory, the industry reaching its
I highest development in the Inst two counties, where nre
I located the celebrated fields of Puyallup Valley and
White River Valley.
" Tho famous Puyallup Valley lies in Pierce County,
! Washington Territory. Beginning nt the Indinn Roser
I vntion, it extends eastward n distance of fiftoon miles, and
has nn average width of three mileB, the total area
I amounting to forty-five square miles. Of this fully
I 10,000 acres are adapted to the culture of hops. Through
the center of the valley Howb tho Puyallup River, direct
from the icy glaciers of Mount Rainier, tho foothills of
j the green Cascades hemming it in on either side nnd
forming the ridges which enclose tho valley. The soil is
I a deep, rich, black vegetable mould of great depth, tho
I accumulations of years of washings of the soil and luxur
I iant vegetation of the Cascade Mountains. There is no
i subsoil whntever, the mould extending to n depth not yet
I nscertnined. At one place the drill of an nrtosinn well
I struck a cedar log nt a depth exceeding one hundred feet,
1 nnd wherever the river washes away its banks largo trees
I are uncovered lying fifteen feet below tho surface. On
I tho farm of O. M. Annis largo cedar stumps have thus
boon uncovered which presont tho npetiranee of having
'( been cut with a sharp stone implement, the cut slanting
upwnrds. These stumps nre from ton to twelve foot
below the surface, nnd nbove thoin grow groat trees hun
I drods of years old. They sj)eak to us of tho primitive
races who lived in intellectual darkness, and nges since
disnpenred in the eternal gloom of nn unrecorded exist-
once, leaving but hero and there a faint indication of
their former presence. No better idea of tho richness
J and composition of this vegetable soil enn bo given than
j Hint of the old pioneer of the Willamette Valley, who
I referred with pride to the fact that tho rich bottom lands
upon which he had settled were composed of a "con
! glomerated mass of muckulated gloom." All kinds of
ccreaLj and vegetables produce in abundance, but the soil
' and climate seem to be especially adapted to the culture
's
r
of hops, to which the attention of tho people is chielly
JcvuLd. Tho HHtUt, uiin-uoitml by any suimoil, pono
trato to a great depth, and draw upwnrds nn nhnndnnco
of moisture even in tho driest of seasons. Roots nine
feet long have been oxjosod by the erosion of tho river,
and ono fourteen feet in length is now on exhibition.
Tho crop has never failed, nor havo the vines or cones
been attacked by lico or any form of disease, such as
alllict tho yards of Wisconsin, New Yolk ami Kiirox
Tho growers nscrilm this exemption from scourge to the
length of tho growing season, tho cool summer nighU
nnd tho nbsenco of those excessively hot summer days
experienced elsewhere. It is their hope nnd ladiof that
theso favorable climatio conditions will constitute a per.
pctual barrier through which insect pests nnd disease
will never break.
There are at least one hundred men engaged in grow,
ing hops in the valley, with a total area of 1,1100 acres in
hop vines. Laud cultivated is valued at tl'A) per nitre,
nnd unclenred and uncultivated laud range from fill) t)
100. Hop picking is done chielly by Indians, who
gather hero in tho picking season from reservations htiu.
drods of miles dixtaut. Fully three thotmnd of them
camo into tho valley tho present season. "They come,"
writes a prominent grower, "from far nnd near, soma in
wagons, some on horseback, n few on foot, but the greater
number in canoes. They aro of all conditions - the old
and young, tho blind and maimed, tho workers and
idlers making a motley m iss curious to look upon.
They aro from all parts of Puget Hound, from Rritisli
Columbia, ami even from tho online of Alaska. The
furthermost tribes come in their largo canoes (made
from the immense cedars of that region),' so largo that
they dure mid do venture to sea in them in their seal
fishing season, manned with twenty men or more. The
voyngn to tho hop yards is nil by tho Inland channel nnd
among the islands of Puget Hound. Oftentimes a month
is occupied in making tho trip, leisurely working their
way, camping hero and there to hunt or fish, as their
inclination prompts. Wherever night overtakes them
they nre at homo, nnd when they arrive nt tho hop fields
a few hours suflico to construct their cnmM a?td Ini ready
for work. When fairly settled down to it, they are in
veterato and reliable workers, going to the hop field as
soon as they can see to work, carrying their dinners with
them, and remaining until pitch dark. Experts among
them nuiko as high as a day in some cases, but, taking
tho average, only alsiut a day, The question of
questions with the hop growers is, Will enough come?
If so, will they arrive in time? From a stixwed slant
supply of help timid growers lmeorna scared and liegin to
bid up and run after fresh arrivals. The Indians are
quick to perceive tho situation, and ready to profit by the
anxiety of growers and drive the best bargain itossihk
They are masters of the situation, or think they are, and
oftentimes there is much trouble and expense incurred
from the scramble among growers to procure pickers.
As the acreage has increased, however, the supply of
lalxtr has thus fnr been ample, so that there lias never