THE MORXIN'G OREG0NIAX, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 1, 1908.
M
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Tfiis State to All Markets, and Its Prunes
Are Staple the World Over
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By WUber R- Newell, President State
Board of Horticulture. '
THE splendid condition of the fruft
industry in Oregon is conclusively
nhotvn by a comparison of the yipld
and value of this year's crop with that
of former years. v
The following- figures, compiled by the
State Board of Horticulture, are very
coneervative, but were gathered with a
great deal of care and are believed to
show very closely the amount of fruit
actually sold by the grower and the value
received by him:
Apples, boxen l.OSS.ino f1.4:n.no
rried prunes, lbs 25,4ui.ooo 1,J08,S73
Prunes and g plums 2
shipped green or
fresh to cannrrs
and others, tons.. 4.1SS an.n-.O
Pears, boxes 24T.70O 2R..)n
Peaches, boxes . m . . . 44.T,.S7o 2s.26
Cherries, boxes."... S,4i.000 liau.SOO
Apricots, boxes H.500 , 7..VJU
Strawberries, boxes.. .Pfir.oort 4it".50O
Blackberries, boxes. . 3.1A4.UO0 7S.500
Raspberries, boxes... I.ne.noo 74..Vn
loganberries, boxes. 1,140.000 Sli.riOU
Currants, boxes 370,000 31.000
Gooseberries, boxes.. 37S.O0O la.iOO
Orapes, boxes 3.943.000 J-'4.SOO
Other fruit 26,000
Value.
4;27S,185
This Is an Increase of 53 per cent over
th crop of 1906, and in view of the fact
that the supple crop over most of the
state was very light, Is a moet encouragf
lng showing.
Thousands of acres of fruit trees have
been planted each year for several years
past, and this year the planting will be
heavier than ever. As a general rule care
and good judgment are being shown in
the selection of soil and location and of
proper stock for planting, so that our
output will Increase by leaps and bounds
each year and In a very few years should
reach a value of f5O.O0.O0O.
The apple will, of course, always be
king of fruits, and the acreage will per
haps equal that of all other tree fruits
combined. The most Important centers of
apple-growing at the present time are
Hood River Valley, Mosier Valley, Rogue
River Valley around Medford and Central
Point, the Grand Ronde Valley, near La
Grande: the little Walla Walla Valley,
near Milton and Frcewater, and numer
ous pofnts) in the Willamette Valley.' But
there are hundreds of other localities
equally good and only needing the enter
prising fruitgrower to develop them.
So generous lias Nature been to Ore
gon in hrr gifts of soil and climate that
nil the fruits of t'u-. temperate zone ran
l grown successfully almost everywhere.
The success depend upon the man far
more than tne locality. Every citizen of
Oregon knows that the Hood River Spitz
nberg is the highest-priced appl? in the
New York markets, and that the Rogue
l:Iver Yellow Newtown brings the most
money in Ixndnn and Berlin, outselling
t::- California Newtown almpst two to
one.
A market for Oregon apples is being
developed across the Pacific, peveral
thousand boxes being sent annually to
Vladivostok. As the Asiatic people grad
ually acquire the ability to buy there Will
be nn unlimited market for our fruits
over there.
The prune ranks next the apple in
value of output. It Is not so widely
grown as the apple, but Is confined
practically to the Willamette anl
t'mpqua Valleys, in western Oregon,
and to a limited area around The
liallee. near Cove and Union, In the
Grand Ronde Valley, and near Nyssa
and Ontario, In the Malheur Valley.
The French prune is largely grown in
the Umpqua Volley, but all the other
sections grow the Italian a'ir.ost ex-
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home in' uouthern Tr western Orosron.
Menaced by the dreaded pear bliglrt
in nearly all other fruitgrowing: dis
tricts, it flourishes almost undisturbed
in these favored districts. Although
the bligrht has been found In some few
instances, it does not thrive and
spread, and there is no doubt that rea
sonable care will keep it entirely in
subjection. A bountiful yielder and a
good seller, the pear is very profitable.
Almost beyond belief are the prices
received for the Cornice pears shipped
to New York from the orchards near
Medford. and from the Wallace orcharJ,
near Salem. Half boxes, containing
only 40 to 45 pears selling for 14.20,
or 10 cents a pear wholesale, and this
for whole carloads, not just sample
boxes. The Bartlett, the finest can-
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cluslvely. The western Oregon product
Is nearly all shipped to the Bastern
markets In the fresh or green state.
These shipments usally bring good
prices and the orchards are very profit
able to the owners.
The crop on a 60-acre orchar-1 near
Nyssa was sold thla year for $4500 on
the tree, the buyer paying all expensea
and taking all the risk. Drle.1 prui;s
usually sell at from 24 to 5 cents, ac
cording to size, and pay from $50 to
flSO per acre. Planted on suitable
land, well drained end free from froit,
they are steady and reliable bearers,
and planting Is sine to keep pace with
the inn'kej. Jem ni.
Ttta D-.ir it'.iiu to find l. BJtiural
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ning pear grown, grows to perfection
and will be a sburce of great wealth in
the future. Selling to the cannery at
$20 to f40 per ton and yielding 3 to
10 tons per acre. It is easy to see a
good profit.
The cherry, like the pear, seems pe
culiarly at home In Oregon. They
have a size and flavor here, unequaled
by any other region. Many of our best
varieties have originated in Oregon,
such as the Bing. Lambert and Black
Republican. These - are all splendid
shipping cherries, .nd in refriger.itor
cars can be sent all over the United
States. A very large acreage is being
planted around The Dalles, and this
noiot will probably lta.il la shipment!
of fresh cherries. The Royal Anne,
the great canning cherry, is grown
everywhere li Western and Southern
Oregon, and in many parts of Eastern
Oregon, succeeding remarkably well
at Cove and the Grand Eonde Valleys.
So popular is the cherry as a canning
fruit, that lts production Is bound to
increase very rapidly.
It Is -only in recent years that the
peach has become a prominent crop in
Oregon. For many years Ashland has
been famous for her beautiful peaches.
but few were grown anywhere else.
been very heavy around Medford,
Merlin, Roseburg, The Dalles, and in
many places in the Willamette Valley.
The home markets were generally sup
plied, this year, many were exported,
and large quantities sold to the can
neries. Canned peaches, always re
garded as a luxury, will soon be one of
the staple products of Oregon. The
free use of the lime-sulphur spray has
been found a perfect remedy for all the
diseases of the peach, and its culture
is now a safe proposition.
For a great many years the idea was
prevalent that the grape could not be
grown successfully in Oregon, but a
few such men as Peter, Britt, of Jack
sonville, and A. H. Carson, of Grants.
Pass; A. R. Shipley, of Oswego, and
John F. Broetje, of Mllwaukie, quietly
went- ahead and demonstrated the error
of this opinion until now the grape is
one of our standards, and at the rate
planting is being done, will soon be in
the front rank as a money producer.
Jackson and Josephine Counties are re
markably well adapted to the culture
of some of the best European varieties,
Recently haeY&r, cUoIloxa bava ljj-o4mUig a, iDiiajf.iiuecatajid .Mala?
that are unequaled by the best districts
of California. The market demand for
these grapes seems unlimited, and
will soon be covering the hills of
southern Oregon. ,
These grapes also, succeed splendidly
along the Columbia River, from The
Dalles eastward. The Willamette Val
ley produces the Amertdan varieties in
abundance and of the finest quality.
The home markets were abundantly
supplied this year and several carloads
of Concords were, shipped to Seattle.
A grape juice factory will pay well,
and one is very much needed.
Space will not permit of a detailed
description of each of the kind of
small fruits, but suffice it to say they
are all staple crops and as sure as the
seasons themselves. The production la
only limited by the help available and
the market demand. With the recent
rapid increase In the number" of can
neries in the state, the market -is pro
vided. But there is room for many
more canneries; we) need one in every
Important town; for then the large
farms can be divided; five to ten acres
at Xruit will make a family a living;
all the fruits can be saved and glutted
markets avoided. .
The loganberry, as the newest of the
small fruits, deserves mention. Of de
licious flavor when stewed or pre
served. It has a great future as a
canned fruit. Evaporating readily, it
will fill a long felt want as a good pie
fruit. The evaporated berry, when
soaked and made Into pie, has all the
delicious flavor of the freshly stewed
berry.
Hard, indeed, to please is the man
who cannot find some line of fruit
growing, or some locality in Oregon,
that will suit him.
But whether he choose the mountain
valleys under the shadow of Mount
Hood, or the broad reaches of the
Harney Valley; the sandy, irrigated
lands along the Columbia, or the deep
alluvial soils of Western Oregon; the
sunny hillsides of Southern Oregon, or
prefers" to nestle under the shelter of
the Rlmrock Mountains on the west
ern shore of Sumner Lake, it matters
not. If only that man -does his part
intelligently and well, his reward Is
certain.
FRUIT BRINGS ONE
DISTRICT $500,000
Freewatcr-Milf on Section Prosper
lTnder Irrigation Many Varieties
of Berries, Peaches, Apples and
Cherries.
By lieorxe P. 8iuidersoii.
HE fruit season of 1.W, just closed,
has been the longest in the history
or the Freewater-Mllton district and
the fruit product In this district alrfiie
amounted to fully $500,000. In consequence
the ranchers are all well provided for,
despite the scarcity of ready cash In the
banks of the whole country, and nearly
all are making great improvements on
their ranches. t
Beginning with the strawberry crop
there were 15,000 crates of strawberries
and 10.000 crates of dewberries, 7000- crates
of cherries, raspberries and blackberries;
20 cars of pears. 50 cars of peaches, 100
cars of prunes, 150 cars of Winter apples,
80 cars of mixed fruit, and local freight
and express shipments of fruit equal to
50 cars more. In addition to this the
Freewater cannery paid out over 125,000
to ranchers for second-rate fruit for
canning purposes. The cannery did not
start operation until after the peach crop
was nearly exhausted. .
Combining the canned fruit with the
other makes over 600 carloads of fruit
for the season of 1907. The fruit crop
was out of the grower's hands before the
financial stringency occurred, thus giving
them excellent prices for their produce.
This fruit was shipped to all parts of
the United States, Canada and England,
more than 25 carloads of our prunes
having been shipped to London, England.
A large Walla Walla company 'which
have a big packing-house here under the
management of N. W. Mumford, did a
trifle over $90,000 of business, employing
over 200 persons, pickers and , packers.
Another similar concern did over $60,000
worth of business. Another fruit com
pany did nearly $8,0W worth and the
Milton Fruitgrowers' Union about $70,000
worth. A Boise firm and Kansas City
fruit packer also bought prunes and
apples amounting to nearly $ls0,000 and
large numbers of local shippers shipped
In small lots to commission-houses In
Spokane, Boise and other Northern
points.
The crop of 1907 has never been equalled
on this valley either for productiveness
or for prices paid for our fruit. This is
due In the first place to our fine climate
the fruit season opening in April and
lasting until the second week In Novem
ber. John Kellar picked a box of second
crop strawberries and sold them on the
9th day of last November.
In the second place the ranchers have
realized that they can only get good
results from their ranches by careful at
tention to the trees, bushes and plants
and plenty of hard work. Last year the
San Jose scale and the Codlin moth were
especially conspicuous by their absence,
the ranchers having carefully followed
the Instructions given them by Fruit In
spector Howard Evans, in regard to
spraying. The result has been good,
sound, clean fruit, which resulted in good
prices.
A larger acreage Is being given up to
Winter apples and prunes and trees
which have been unprofitable are -being
culled out and good growers and sellers
being planted In their place.
Nowhere in the West is the soil better
suited for fruitgrowing than here and our
Irrigation system cannot be excelled, the
whole valley being well supplied with
water. The Freewater booth at the recent
fair held by the Walla Walla County
exhibitors in Walla Walla was awarded
first prize for the best fruit exhibit,
capturing the prize of $250 cash.
Freewater's fruit Is now known all over
the world ,and this district is able to
compete with any section of country in
growins good fruit and securing -good
prices for iL