The west shore., October 01, 1888, Page 538, Image 19

THE WEST SHORE.
MS
matic condition, together with the character of the
oil and surface characteristics, mike Oregon natur
ally adapted to the production of choice fruits. It
im these consideration! that appealed so strongly to
the early sottlert and induced them to plant orchards
and raise fruit for the remarkable market which then
demanded their product And, as is usual in locali
ties highly favored by nature, there was no exertion,
or almost none, to improve the fruit crop and reduce
orcharding to anything like a systematic industry.
When those fabulous prices for apples prevailed, the
buyer had to gather the fruit himself, and merely for
lack of enterprise on the part of the producer the in
dustry languished for years. If the trees, without
cultivation, produced good crops, and buyers willing
to do the harvesting came along at the proper time,
the buaines was profitable; but the farmers seliom
expended much labor on their fruit The harvest was
often abundant without any cultivation having been
bottowed on the crop. Fruit was regarded as a sort
of spontaneous production, and the attention of agri
culturists was devoted to those crops which would not
grow without artificial ail
Daring the put few years, orchardisis of Oregon
have been awakening to a realiniion of the oppor
tunities they possess for developing a vast industry.
With the increase of population and the extension of
transportation facilities to reliable markets, a new in
centive to fruit growing tu created, but mainly to
the infusion of new iieaa and more correct spprecia
tivn of the merits of the business doe orcharding owe
its present favorable aspect It has recovered from
the decadence into which it lapsed after the early
Kvcn, ani is rapidly gaining the attention which its
imjvtftanc deserves. While the apple wu formerly
all the fruit that Orepaa product to any considera
ble extent the new orchards yield a variety suited to
this climate In no part o! the worli can better ap
pie, plama, prune, pears ani cherries be produced
tiaa in Oregon. 0;h?r cultivated fruits, such as
peaches quints, blariberrisa, raipberriess gxeber
rie. currants, grapes ani stratberrie, also yield
abundantly and of ne quality.
The fruit growing btcmsU of Oregon are chief y
situated wet d tie Cascade mountains, in the val
ley of tie Wiamette, Umrua ani Hype rivers.
Of this wiem ictka of tie state, tiere is a dier-eu.-
in producing capacity Uirtez tie sortiera and
southern rocxixa. Tie grape and peaci are most
ininfn.vd by the di fertile in climax d tiee local-i-f.
lie Wwamet rdtj bbg uua2y admitted
tot to jttaiu: u gvd graphs as tie t'mpqua and
R-V rive? racers to tie sccli; but wietier tior.
ccgh culture wlj rc be prcdartivt of u gxd re
sets in tie noctifm as in tie ou:im pxtiou re
mains to be demonstrated. Undoubtedly the rr '
grapes can be produced to better advantage ia ft!
dryer valleys to the southward, but of the ttzt&t
of the catalogue of Oregon fruits nearly all tn
equally well in the various localities of western Or
gon. The " big red apples " of Yamhill county
haps have the widest reputation at present of
Oregon fruit, but the Bartlett pear of this sUte I
also famous, and the other fruits are graduaHjk
coming well known in the markets of the western
middle states. Formerly the principal orchard 4
the Willamette valley were in lower Marion
Clackamas counties and Washington and YamhiB,
and some in Linn county. Now every county ia &
state grows fruit, and every county in Western Orejs
produces abundantly for market
In the order of their present importance, the pria.
cipal orchard fruits of Oregon are apples, pears, &er.
riea, prunes, plums, peaches and quinces. Lrg
quantities of choice grapes and fine berries are alio
grown, but they are chiefly of local importance, ei.
cept the strawberries, whrh are shipped to carieti
throughout the northwest Of the apples, those a
greatest favor are the Baldwin, King, Spitzenburg,
Red Cheek Pippin, Winesap, Yellow Newton Pippin,
Red Astrachau, Northern Spy, Roibury Eussett, izi
G ravens te in. There is no necessity for selecting tit
iron clad varieties, for the climate here will pemit
the tenderest to flourish, and the selections are uvie
with reference to the demands of the market Of
pears, the Bartlett ia far in the lead, and other va
rieties grown are the Fall Butter, Winter Nellis ani
Anjou. Of cherries, the Royal Ann, or Xapoleos
Bigereau, and Black Republican, a seedlirg of tbi
country, lead, but the Black Tartarian ani Keitisi
cherries yield well and are particularly desirable I
canning purposes. The leading varieties of pm:a
raised in Oregon are the Italian FaVaAerg), aJ
the French ( Pdife (TAgen), and the Gross, or Fc:!i
Seedling. The forcer two constitute the great tu
of the prune production of the state, as, b fact, ti?j
do of the whole Pacific coast though the Italian prat
of California is a very inferior fruit ThePeaI3 I
is at the head of that kind of fruit, ani the Qrera
growth U not surpassed elsewhere in the world 1
is suitable for shipping green or for canning cr d-7
bg. The Yellow Egg ranks next as a pha for cs ?
ning, and tie Washington, Columbia and h--"-are
of about equal importance for general purpes
In peaches, tie Early Crawford is tie most pr-
but is closely followed by tie Amsden ani E'
Early. The Early Crawford is tie prevailing p
of tie Willamette valley.
Almost all tie grapes of California can be f
emfully grown in Southern Oregon, not tiftf