Morning Oregonian., January 01, 1912, SECTION TWO, Page 4, Image 20

THE MORMXG OEEGOXIAX, -MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 1912.
NEXT TO APPLE, PRUNE HAS LEAD AMONG
PRODUCTS OF OREGON'S FINE ORCHARDS
Pears. Peaches. Cherries, Grapes and Berries Are Also Raised in Large Quantities. Growers Make
Large Profits and Conditions Are Improving Through Betterment of Transportation Facilities.
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Hoard at Hartlrallarr.
kK FRl'JTS other than th apple.
tha pruna hoJda the leading: place
In Onion. A a much amaller
proportion of the prunes produced In tha
atate are required for home demands
than la the caaa with applea. tha value
of prunes shipped out of the state for
a number of years past has exceeded
tha value of the apples shipped.
The 1911 prune crop of Oregon waa
below the average tn vleld. but the ab
normally high prlcea which have been
paid for the crop hare more than com
pensated f,or the reduction In volume.
It Is customary to Include the output
of prunes from Clark County. Washing
ton. In estimates of the Oregon prune
crop. Oregon, proper, had a crop of
about 20,0u0.0u0 pounds of dried prunes
In 1911. worth abouWl.C00.000. To this
should be added the value ot the prunes
shipped fresh which would raise tha
value of the entire prune crop of tha
state to 11.700,000. If the value of tha
prune crop of Clark County. Washing
ton. Is added, tha total reaches I2.200,-
The commercial dried prune of Ore
gon is the Italian, commonly called the
Oregon, and sometimes tha Washington
prune. It required hard work to es
tablish Its present good reputation on
the markets, but a demand has been
created .which would now take 50 to
100 per cent more prunes of this va
riety than are produced. Not Includ
ing tha prices which have been paid
for the 1911 crop, because they are ab
normally high, the prlcea paid for a
number of years past have been suf
ficiently good to make prunes more
profitable than most other farm prod
ucts, and those districts In Oregon which
make the production of prunes a spe
cialty are among the most prosperous
and attractive agricultural communities
In the state.
. The Italian prune shipped fresh Is
one of the most popular plums In the
Eastern markets, and particularly In
the City of Hew York. IX tha open
ing of the Panama Canal brings the
anticipated reduction In the cost of
shipping fruit to that city a large in
crease in the shipment ot fresh prunes
will take place. It appears probable
thtt the amount and value of Oregon's
prune crop can be multiplied by three
within the next decade.
In the Rogue River Valley the pear
Is becoming a fruit of great import
ance. This fruit is now receiving In
creased attention also in the Willamette
and L'mpqua Valleys. The crop of pears
in Oregon the past season was below
the average, but prices were excellent.
The canneries in the state paid higher
prices for Bartletts than they hav in
previous years, and while no record
breaking prices have been paid for
pears shipped East, the average prices
obtained have been well up.
Tne main development of the pear
Industry in Oregon promises to be in
the production of late Fall or Winter
pears. The Bosc. as grown In this
atate. either in Southern Oregon or in
the Willamette Valley. Is coming to
the front remarkably as a market pear.
H. B. Miller, from personal observation,
has become convinced that there la a
great market awaittng late Oregon
pears which will reach Europe in time
to be In the best of condition at the
holidays. At that time there is a great
consumption of fruits In Great Britain
and Ireland, and the pear is much in
favor.
Up to the present time the market for
peaches grown In Oregon, Washington
and Idaho has been almost confined to
the Northwest. Including the territory
west of St. Paul and Winnipeg. Pro
duction la now apparently in excess of
the demands of this area. As there has
been a large expansion of the peach
acreage of Oregon in the past year or
two it is evident that new outlets for
the crop must be found. The one which
Is most obvious Is the production ot
genuine evaporated peaches free from
sulphur. A peach that Is quickly evap
orated In rapidly moving currents of
air and which has not been subjected
to the fumes of sulphur Is an article
of superb quality.' The indications now
are that within a few years the prac
tice of bleaching fruit with sulphur
will be unlawful. Whether this hap
pens or not. the fact remains that the
practice of exposing fruit to the fumes
of sulphur always injuriously affects
its flavor. Oregon has an opportunity
to take the lead in placing upon the
markets genuine evaporated peaches
and other fruits "free from sulphur."
Oregon has become known as the
producer of the finest cherries seen in
American markets. Our climatic con
ditions enable ua to produce this fruit
with the unusual combination of the
largest size with the highest quality.
As yet, however, the cherry has only
fairly given promise or what It is to
do for the state. It has not been
grown on a large enough scale to lead
to the establishment of suitable packing-houses
and pre-cooling plants, and
It has not been practical to obtain sup
plies fast enough to permit of shipping
in carload lots to the best advantage.
The volume iT"crop at such points as
Salem. The Dalles. Cove and Eugene is
now reaching sufficient magnitude to
enable the handling of this fruit to be
done in the best possible manner.
The business of canning cherries has
made a fairly good growth, but hither
to the demand from canneries for cher
ries from year to year has varied great-
ly. The choicest Royal Annes are taken
In steadily Increasing quantities by
manufacturers of maraschino cherries.
The great market cherries of Oregon
Royal Anne, King and Lambert, all
make high-grade evaporated fruit, and
the business of drying them and de
veloping a market for the product has
not received the attention it deserves.
Cherries of Inferior quality-should not
be dried, as they lack substance and
flavor, and If placed 'on the market
will hurt the reputation of the atate.
With prospective low freight rates to
the cities of the Atlantic Coast.' the
quince promises to be a fruit of some
Importance in Oregon. In Western Or
egon it la one of the surest bearers of
all fruits, but tn tha East It is one ot
the most uncertain In bearing. The
market for quinces la not great but is
well worth looking after.
Of plums other than the Italian
prune it may be said that nearly every
known variety of market value can be
grown with success in at least some
section of the state. The Industry of
growing plums for shipment to the
East Is likely, however, to be developed
mainly along the Columbia River and
Its tributaries from The Dalles east
ward. The apricot and the nectarine can ba
grown easily in a few of the specially
favorable sections but market condi
tions have not as yet been such aa to
encourage any very extensive planting
of either of these fruits in Oregon. In
a few of the warmest exposures near
The Dalles where the aprtcot can be
ready for market very early In the sea
son Its production is profitable.
The strawberry is the fruit which
first made Hood River famous, and
Hood River still leads all other points
in the state 'in the shipment of straw
berries to distant markets. It cannot
be said that the business of shipping
strawberries from Oregon to pointa
east of the Rocky Mountains is making
rapid growth, and the main develop
ment of the strawberry industry in thia
state is due to the increase In home de
mand from consumers and canneries.
The consumption of strawberries Jn
Portland and other cities of the North
west la extraordinarily large, owing to
the long season of supply of good ber
ries at moderate or low prices.
The loganberry promises to rank
soon as one of the Important fruits of
the state. This Is due to the favor '
which evaporated loganberries find In
the Middle West where the people had
heard of the merits of fresh loganber
ries and were ready to give the evapor
ated fruit a trial. The demand for the
past season was two or three times as
great as the supply. At present the
production of evaporated loganberries
is highly profitable and there Is a sort
of erase for planting them. The Indus
try is one which can readily be expand
ed with rapidity, and it is to be hoped
that some systematic system of adver
tising and introducing evaporated
loganberries can be devised and car
ried out. If sufficient attention is giv
en to the development of a market for
this product there will be literally mil
lions of dollars for Oregon In the
loganberry business within a few
years.
Raspberries, blackberries, currants
and gooseberries are grown in Oregon
only in sufficient quantities to meet
the home demands. Including what are
taken by canneries. Climatic and soil
conditions are most favorable In this
state for the production of small fruits
of all kinds, and the notable success
made in the Puyallup-Sumner district
in Washington is building up a great
business in the growing, shipping and
tanning of raspberries and blackber
ries shows what can be done. Dried
blackcap rasperries are produced in a
few places in Oregon, and usually with
good profit.
There are a few cranberry growers
In Coos and Tillamook Counties in this
state. They report the industry a safe
and profitable one. ' The quality of the
berries is good. As yet the output of
cranberries on the Pacific Coast is far
below the home demand.
Grapes of the American varieties,
such as the Concord, ara grown in Ore
gon for the home market and the sup
ply is equal to the demand. Such
European varieties of grapes, as the
Flame Tokay, thrive in some localities
in Southern Oregon and along the Co
lumbia River and Its tributaries in
Eastern Oregon. It was long ago
pointed out by vlticultural authorities
from Europe that Southern Oregon has
soils, locations and climatic conditions
favorable to the production of the
finest wine grapes, but as yet little ef
fort has been made to grow such
grapes in this State.1
QUALITY STANDARD FOR APPLES SET
IN ALL MARKETS BY OREGON FRUIT
With Ideal Soil and Climate for Production of Best That Is Grown, Orchardists Add to Prestige by
Scientific Methods of Picking, Packing and Marketing. Industry on Firm Basis.
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By Homer C. Atwell. ex-President State
Horticultural Society.
REGON has become famous for her
apple. Probably no other product
of our state has won such general
attention. Wherever Oregon apples
have been Introduced, they have es
tablished the standard of excellence
for quality and pack. This enviable
reputation' is fully deserved. Oregon
was the pioneer in scientific apple
packing. The valleys of the Willam
ette, Hood, Rogue, Umpqua and Grand
Ronde have long demonstrated their
adaptability to production of the high
est type of those varieties most popu
lar In Eastern and European markets.
Other districts, notably some of the
coast counties, have proved congenial
homes for certain varieties of com
mercial importance.
The Oregon apple is fortunate in not
having thus far encountered any dis
ease or Insect peat which does not
readily yield . tn recognized methods
of treatment. The regularity of our
production is another reason for con
fidence In the future stability" of the
business. '
Prices received, in those districts
whose growers were well organized
and marketing co-operatively, have
been so great as to raise the price -of
good apple land to a very high figure.
I will not undertake to quote these
prices nor to make an estimate of pos
sible profits. Average returns are,
after all, the best indication of per
manent prosperity. Two growers of
the Willamette Valley may be ycited In
this connection. , One has a 10-acre or
chard for which he paid $110 -an acre.
The seventh year after planting, the
orchard' paid for the land, trees and
all expenses to date. The trees are
now 11 years old, and have averaged
a net annual return, since the seventh
year, of $125 an acre. Another grower
reports $350 as his average annual
gross return for the last three years,
from one-fourth acre of Rome Beau
ties, now 16 years old. These records
sufficiently prove that apple-growing
in Oregon has been profitable. We can
not doubt that the same methods, com
bined with, efficient marketing organi-
gation. will bring satisfactory returns
in the future.
The apple Industry of Oregon, as
throughout the Pacific Northwest, is
rapidly passing beyond the stage of
discussion and experimentation along
lines of production. Questions of va
rieties, diseases, pests and cultivation.
In the solution of which the Agricul
tural College has faithfully collabor
ated with the grower, liave been, to a
large extent, settled. The most im
portant problem now confronting the
Industry is one for business men, as
such. It is the problem of markets
and marketing, a problem .beyond the
scope, of the theorist or the experi
menter, and calling for men trained
in the wider environment of actual
business life.
The far-sighted grower realizes that
his future "prosperity does not depend
on securing $2 a box for his high-grade
fruit, for which the consumer pays $4.
He knows that such prices curtail con
sumption. Better for the apple pro
ducer to sell his firsts at a reasonable
price, ' transform his seconds into by
products, at a profit, and cut down ex
penses of distribution to a point where
the consumer can obtain high-grade ap
ples at $2 a box. Thus will consump
tion be many times .doubled, ajid the
average annual profit of the grower be
increased. This is the goal toward
which the real friends of the industry
are moving. The possibility of achiev
ing this ideal, and the fortunate posi
tion of Oregon growers with reference
to the future main artery of distribution
constitute the basis for our prediction
of a brilliant future for the Oregon ap
ple Industry.
The principal apple districts of Ore
- gon are advantageously situated as re
gards future transportation . facilities.
It may be confidently predicted that. In
the near future, our apples will be
transferred from rail to water, at Port
land, thence to be transported to the
Gulf and Atlantic seaboards, and to
foreign markets. It is asserted, by
highest authority on matters relating
to the Panama Canal, that our horticul
tural interests will be more directly and
generally affected by completion of that
waterway than will any other industry,
with possible exception of lumber. It
la conceded, by ttio railroad men them-.
selves that freight rates by way of the
canal can be made, and in all probabil
ity will be made one-third the present
railroad rates. When we consider that,
in the United States alone 40.000,000
people live contiguous to the Atlantic
and Gulf Coasts, an idea may be formed
of the magnitude of the increased home
market which a two-thirds reduction
in cost of carriage will open to us.
It should be remembered. In this con
nection that Kansas City. St. Louis and
Cincinnati may be considered contigu
ous to the Mexican Gulf, In comparing
relative cost of transportation from
Portland by rail and water. Not only
are Oregon apple districts conveniently
situated to reach already established
markets by way of the new route. They
also occupy a strategic position with
reference to markets yet to be de
veloped, many of which will be best
reached through the canal. Cheap
transportation afforded .by the canal
will greatly stimulate the conversion of
lower grades of fruit Into profitable by
products. Thus the Oregon apple
grower will be afforded, at less ex
pense, a wider market for- his high
grade fruit, and an outlet for his in
ferior grades. Waste of his product
will then be eliminated, and conserva
tion of all his resources assured.
The task of perfecting efficient ma
chinery for distribution is being worked
out. When this is accomplished, and
the facilities of the Panama Canal are
afforded to our growers, we may ex
pect the Oregon apple to Justify the
hopes of its friends.
Prunes Will Be Planted.
Pr J. Woodward) of Roseburg, has
purchased the Robert Schmutz place of
138 acres in Cloverdale, and will plant
100 acres to prunes, says the Creswell
Chronicle. The trees have been ordered
and work will start as soon as Schmitt
Bros, have time to plow the land with
their caterpillar engine and plows,
which will be soon. The remaining 38
acres of the place will be devoted to
general farming.
Mr. Woodward says it is not his In
tention to divide the land into small
tracts and offer them for sale, but wili
keep the farm intact and develon It un
der his own supervision
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