THE MORXIXO OREGOXIAX. WEDXESDAT. JAAUAIU 1, J9U5. t i my Fruit From Its Orchards Has Made Oregon World-Wide Fa me .v. v.-..- .-. -.v. .v.-'.v . . v,.- . : :v.v.v,: .. - ...vs.-. rtv.ww" . . . . ...... .v. . . . tr s vn f' .-f ssri?A. s.05"- 4 Sw'- By E. H. Sbrpard, Kdltor Brtter Yrat. S THIS New. years edition of The Oregonlan Is to be devoted largely to the apple industry of the State, it seems that It would not be complete without a short history of apple growing in this district, and therefore I am going to tell you about it. not in a journalistic manner, but from the point of view of an orchardist. In this connection I trust this story will be of some benefit in the way of Inducing Easterners 10 come 'West and assist in building up the great State of Oregon, which, if it has n equal, at least haa no superior in growing line fruit. It is a well-known fact that for the last five years Hood River, on the prin cipal varieties of commercial apples, has obtained prices that have not been equalled by any fruitgrowing district in America. And therefore an account of this industry and Its methods may be of some value in the way of developing the industry In our State. In Hood River the applegrower. Is a specialist, and being favored with su perior climate and soil, he succeeds in producing apples that for excellence in quality, richness of color, keeping quali ties (and magnificence are the admiration not only of every State in the Lnion, but of Europe as well. Ho where, you will and you will find the fame of the Hood itiver apple has arrived before you. Every first-class hotel in all of our big cities, every rulltnan dining car, every Trans-Atlantic liner has Hood River ap ples on It menu. With the fruits" of Hood River many prizes were taken at the ChK-ago and Charleston expositions. The "V llder medal at Buffalo was awarded the State of Oregon, and at the St. Ixuls Exposition the only grand prue given any single county In the tnlted States on green fruit was given M asco County on a car load of apples sent from Hood River. In every horticultural exhibit where Hood River has exhibited she has been crowned with glory. The Hood River applegrower. after clearing his land, usually gives it thor ough cultivation and grows the first year a crop of something else, for the reason It is not advisable to plant newly cleared . land In apple trees. Our growers buy the best of one-vear-old slock and are willing to pay an extra price to the nurseryman to get the best trees that can be obtained. While some prefer setting the trees in the Fall, the majority usually set in the Spring. Either time is all right, provid ing the soil is in the proper condition. Ttie holes are dug wide and deep, and when the tree is set It is well "flrmcd" in the ground. The soil should be suffici ently dry to pulverise nicely. Two methods of laying out an orchard are in vogue, the hexagonal and the square Thc hexagonal enables the orchardist to plant more trees to the acre. Either sys tem is good. Apple trees are usually planted 36. 28 and 30 feet apart. In no case should they be less than 26 feet, and on the other hand in Hood River Valley it is not necessary to set them over 30 feet apart. As the beginning of an orchard is of vital importance, it is wise even in a short article ltke this to say a few more words ahout preparing the ground and about digging the hole. The ground should ue plowed deep and thoroughly pulverized by harrowing and dragging until it is In the best possible tilth. - The holes should not be less than 30 to 24 Inches deep and should be at least two and one-half to three feet across. In digging the hole it Is best to throw the top layer of dirt to one side and the bottom layer on the opposite side. When the hole is refilled it is advis able, tis far as practical, to fill the hole, up with the soil from the top layer. And it Is important in filling to see that no de.id roots, lcf.t from the clearing, get Into the hole, for the reason that the dead roots of otner trees in some way which 1 cannot ex plain poison the root of the apple tree and are apt to kill it. The roots of tho young tree should be cut off diugonallv so that the fiat cut will rest squarelv in the hole, and the ctt phould be so made and the tree so set that the cut part will be on a level with the bottom of tho hole. It Is well to have the roots of the tree well moistened before planting. T his can be done by placing the young trees in a barrel of water. The tree tthould be cut off about 20 inches from tho ground If vou want low-headed trees, and that is what the orchardists want nowadays. The trees should be properlv pruned so as to develop a low-headed tree, and a tree ut the, same time whose branches iviU be spreading, so that the sunshine can get Into the center of it. It Is neressarv to color your fruit and develop it to the highest state of per fection. There are two methods of pruninir. One being that of pruning- the tree to a central leader, and the other the vase 3ystein. Both have strong adher ents. l'.lther is frood when properly done. The pruning; and shaping of a tree is perhaps one of the most Im portant features In the growing of an orcnard. and at the same time it is the most difficult to explain. I doubt very much If any bod)" could write an arti cle that would teach a man how to prune properly. It is a business that he must learn by practical experience and observation. So I will pass that subject by and take up a few of the other Important subjects of orchard management that are of general Inter- t. In order to get the best results, both as io yield and size of fruit, it is neces sary 10 keep the orchard under perfect cultivation, so that the soil will be properly pulverized. A thorough state AMOVNT AND VALVE OF OREGOV 1TSIIT OlTri'T FOR 1907. Apple. bnxti 1.0S2.;eo ivied prunes. 11b. J5.4ui.uuo lYunffi dnd piuuiH shipped irrpfn nr tresh to canncra and others. 1011.1. A. 1R.1 rvars. boxpjt 247-7o Chwrlps, tioxm... 6-4rft'rfn A pricnt s. boxe . . . o. riH Mrawlwrrlfs, lix. . ,6.!sr.nMi Wack berries, bx.. 2-lM.iaw) RafpnerrlM". bx... 1, 450,000 Loganberries, bx.. 1,140.000 CurrautR, boxrj. .. .170.000 Gooseberri. bx.. n7n.oo.y Grapes, boxes.... 3.945.1KI0 Other fruit ; . SI. 423.800 1.2I.S7S DOORO 2sa,in 24S.2AO UIU.8A0 7. son 407. son 7! 500 7.&oo 33.600 .11.000 12.500 124.500 26.000 Total value $4,275,185 of cultivation is necessary In order to enable the rootlets to get their food from the noil and it is also necessary in order to conserve the moisture, which Is' absolutely necessary for the growth of the tree. Moisture can be supplied by irrigation, but while Hood River Valley is blessed with three irrigation systems and therefore has an ample supply of water, very little water Is brought into our orchards. Most of the growers will not water an orchard until the trees come Into bearing. ,We claim the roots go deeper if not Irri gated, and therefore get a bigger area of soil. After an orchard comes in to 'bearing, even then many fruitgrowers do not irrigate, and few irrigate more than once a 'year. We believe that the less water an apple has the better the flavor will be, and we feel equally con vinced that the apple that Is not Irri gated, or only is irrigated once during the season, will keep longer tn&n the one irrigated more frequently. I will not go Into the details of han to sav that I rfTV.-f rfSf! MK H U 9 ? W ' 1 $ , " S, H u L - J 1 . 3' 7: ?fi n v . J T I nono. Whpn tho nnnl trops aro In blOS- i XJ - t5 I ' ; : ... IM T som. just, before all the potais nave , . . Bit . 4fr icj f ' IJ r,T - .;::::-.::::....:.-: -:.;-:-.:: .-':" IM KfiaTgB"Jwm r-Tdimnirmyrffliii ii T-n-rr-rrr r AH spraying further t growers in Hood River alley puton a Fall sprav, using Bordeaux mixture, where there is no indication of an thracnope. and also lime and sulphur, both to eradicate and prevent the de velopment oX San Jose scale or fungus. In the Sprin-r the lime and sulphur so lution is again used for the same pur pose. When the apple trees are In blos som, just, before all the petals have fallen, growers put on their first spray for the codling moth. Thev use arsen ate of lead and put on three to five spravings with this material duriig tho season. 'When the apples are the size of hazel nuts, or just before the first thinning: Is given, everv cluster of apples is thinned so that b,ut one remains. Thw second thinning, usually as done a little bit later after the first drop occurs. which is when the apples are the size of hazel nuts. At this time they are so thinned that no branch will have more than it can support without breaking. The usual distance is from four to eight inches apart, according to the load on the limb and the variety of apples. By thinning to this distance Hood River produces the finest quality of fruit in size and appearance, and when it ifi done with good judgment, a uniform size is obtained throughout the entire orchard and the sizes are grown' that command the high est prices. When the apples - are picked they are "handled very carefully to prevent bruis ing. When they are packed the same care is used in handling them. Any sting, blemish, bruise or deformity that affects the general appearance of the apple is considered sufficient cause for throwing it into the cull box. The apples are packed by experienced packers. The box is lined with white paper. Paper is placed be tween each layer, and duplex paper is wrapped around each apple. The box is then attractively labeled.' ' The Hood River orchardist is a spe cialist In every sense of the word. He devotes his entire time to his orchard. As soon as the crop is harvested he be gins his Fall spraying, follows with hls pruning and then his cultivation, thin ning, spraying, picking and packing, and at no time of the year does he let up or neglect his orchard. It is such work as tiis. in connection with our soil and cli mate, that has enahh d the Hood River and the Hosier districts to get prices for their apples for the past five years which stand br a record all over the. world. The soil of Hood River alley is of a volcanic: origin and full of all the min erals which are necessary for the devel opment of the apple to its highest state of perfection. We are favored with a cli mate that for the apple is ideal, with sunshine during the entire growing sea son and warm days and cool nights. Fur thermore. Hood River Valley, while lying along the great Columbia; is blessed with a breeze from the ocean that so tempers its climate that it- is practically immune from frosts. The fruit crop in Hood River Valley has never failed. In addition to the foregoing general de scription of our methods, it seems fitting that a few words should be said about the profit there is. In the business, and I will therefore give a few results, which are mostly from the 1906 crop, for the rea son that returns are not all complete for 1907, as Uhe entire crop has not been marketed on account of the car short age. , Frank Egert, of Portland, from 1009 trees sold JS500 worth. I Struck, from 2.9 acres, sold over J3000 worth. James Lacey, in 1907. from one acre of New towns, sold J1800 worth. J. O. Mark, from 150 Spltzenberg trees five years old. oc cupying two acres,' sold $540.75 worth of fanoy apples. On a conservative basis a bearing apple orchard . in Hood River Valley will net the grower from 1300 to $500 an acre, which Is 30 per cent on a valuation of from $1500 to $2500. The illustrations given are simply aver age cases, and the estimate is extremely conservative, so that what has been done, is being done and can be done again. There are. in fact, many cases where a crop of apples has brought from $1500 to $2501 an acre. 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