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.
Hals lit rtferi?'!f V I- yC r uf H J
fill sxT HOO S0T w jf. C.PCrz. gg I H 1
V