SECTION SIX ;
HOOD RIVER SECTION
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PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, ; MAY 31, 1908.'
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District Sets Stariidard
for Prices Scientific
Method of Packing
Wins Mapy Buyere ;
By MarionMae Ra. ' fJI
-Hood Rlvr , vmlley bas retelvd th j
highest prices on certain varieties of
iomiiierclal apples ver obtained by any
fruit district of.'AmBrlf erEurope 4s
cauulny thinking people in all sftcttonis i
of h' country t li.quix -the 'roason.-f
Go where on will. In the markets of
every; large city in America,!, continental
Europe, the orient and, even to South
Africa,, the Hood River apple U 'in evj
denoe. 'It la on the menu of the dining
cars, the larger hotels, the frans-Atlantlo
liners and always at a prlc in exosa
of apples from other districts. And
Why?
There are two principal reasons for
this supremacy, the first being the won
derful natural facilities or resources of
the Hood River valley In the way iof
climate and soil, which produce unK
1 celled fruit; the' other the scientiliu
'methods of cultivation carefully fol
lowed by every individual fruit grower
: there all believing thai If fruit . Is
wmHh-rieiBgrll-4tl -worth -raising
IltV, Th Hfuh tftndnrd maintained
to unit by the horticulturists of thls j.
district is the aominiuon or ins .V", I
world and the produet. or mis one time
valley-iot much larger in area than a
western stockman's ranch has , done
; more to advertise Oregon than any one
( other of her many wonderful . and at
j tractive .sections. !.i'!'nv,.,
? The thousands of Journnl readers Out
side this Immediate vicinity will be in
terested In the4 location..' topography, cli
mate and soil of this world-famous
fruit rfiHtrifif. K,rha Mood river, a wild
tnountaln river, ha vlns: 10(KOOO unde
veloped horsepower going to waste, takes
Its source In . the snows and glaciers of
Mount Hood, flows north 26 milos
through the heart of the Cascade mountains-to
its confluence ., with- the Colum-
hla, at a point 6 miles east ot foruana.
'The nroeresslve little t city of the val.
' lev's name, li built on the picturesque
terraces alons?tha river and forms the
outlet- to thernt beautlf.l-;ad fertile
vallev in - .U America, . unoqualod , In
s the. productiveness of Its "oil or, tne
grandeur of tts scenery. With a width
i of six to 10 miles It , has an area . of
about 60,000 acres of tillable land. ' less
than 16,000 now. being5 under cultivation.
Bowl-shaped with a rim of massive
mountains, the famous . gorge, of. the
' great Columbia river in-signi irom every
Vtll arnarded at the north and south
.by the . majestic snow clad peaks of
, ". Adams ana.M.000, 11 woiua do, amicus
- to imagine ' a more beautiful place, in
. which to live. If eastern people will
remember that our mountains are Jive
or ltt; times larger than theirs; that the
Columbia -discharges more . Water than
the Mississippi: that an Oregon fir will
cut 10 times as much lumber as a Mich
igan pine, something of the grand scale
on wnlch nature has constructed her
-work In this country wllbe. realised.
We claim that the climatology of
"Hood River Is unsurpassed anywhere,
land It 1s found that a majority of new
: Y comers fully ajrree with us on this point.
r It Is never very -warm" for any: appre
ciable time 1 and the winters are Just
' cold - enough to. give sufficient variety
in climatic conditions -tonduclve to good
health. The mean average temperature
ino rsnnr.1 has been KeDt is 61 de
grees. There Is some snow In winter
a feature WUlfCJl is ei;i;iaiiy mimiBi,
to apple and berry production. These
' snowa seldom fall to a depth of two
feet and they are- gone within a few
days. The fact that they are unaocom-
panied by wind storms or hard f reexes
- is one forthe prospective settler to re
member. For that -matter Hood River
1 valley, is practically exempt, from ,vlo
: lent storms of any character, there be
. ' lug no cyclones, electrical storms, water
spouts, cloud ursta,'- earthquakes or
any of the elemental calamities visited
upon less favored section We strike
a happy medium between the. arid re.
' glons of the middle west and tue ex
Tensive moisture, of .coast points where
there Is a precipitation of - 65 Inches.
The mean annual 'rainfall for the paBt
ItO vears is 88.38 Inches.- lea than that
of New York or Boston. The altitude
- - ranges from-1 01- fet - above . sea JeveL
, at the Hood River depot, to 11.225 feet
.1. , at the ton of Mount Hood, so it Is pos
sible fer-the 'summer visitor to expert-
nee any change of climate within one
aajvirom a muu summer weainer or tne (
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lower valley to the frigid snows and
eiaciers 01 old lioo't .... v,
" Boll of valley..- .""r ? .
The soli of this vallev Is of volcanic
origin and of two distinct kinds one
being a light ash, the other a'decom-
posed lava, colored to a deep f reddish
chocolate by the Iron it contains. . Both
are -rich in phospliates and abundantly
supplied with, nitrogen. They prove their
wonderful productive qualities season
after season;.-:-- la the ; greatftr-- part- of
the tillable area the ton soil Is of .un
usual depth and, the perfect-root growth,
wt iiuii hcbb .is viireLijiieu.-. xne pe-
cuiinr propurnun oi cueminai elements
In this soil brlnxs the anole .ami strau.--
berry to a greater de&ree of perfection-
man jn any piner Known irult gTowlng
Im a A A W la V 1 . .
uiuiui, iito iruu iiavin a -sounaness
and keeping quality not attained else
where, while in color,- Uniformity of
else -and flavor " they J are 4inequaled.
Other fruits -are most successfully
raised, especial attention being given to
large varieties of cherries for whicu Ore
gon is Justly famous, but the ble force
of. the valley; Is directed to the produc
tion of large opple and berry- crops of
best , commercial - varieties, and the s re
sult has been world-wide reputation and
woria-recora prices. - .
. But while nature has been most nrod-
Igal in her rich gifts the progressive,
up-to-date cltixen here is the "man be
hind the gun,"' -. It is a fact that Hood
River - valley as a community has a
more Intellie-ent. hls-hlv eduratc-A lau
of cltisens than the ordinary rural dis
trict can boast. Their nergy Is untir
ing arid they have set a high 'standard
In fruit growing which It is their pride
to maintain. Constant research and the
adoption of new methods have put them
on a Bcienune acaie in Horticulture and
they will never, -fall - back- but forge
ahead. A university club has recently
been .organized .and it was found that a
surprising percentage- of fruit - growers
there are college graduates. With In
telligence and unbounded enertrv and the
full assistance of nature the phenomenal
success of Hood River, fruit growers
is .not to be wondered at -
- ..rionaw i Orokaraists. '.4
The pioneer orchardists expertmented
many years with varieties and method
and we who have taken up scientific
nomcuiiui-e in recent years owe much
to them. : The newcomer can learn In
one short season what it took the older
orchardists a lifetime of work aad great
expense to acquire. The man of today
knows- through theiriWianv experiments
that the best varieties of aDDles. from
a commercial standpoint je the f'Dltz-
eniierg' ana . y.enow.., isewtown -"ippin;
that these reach the greatest degree of
berfectlon. brlhir lilrhest Drlces and keen
and ship better than any others; he also
teams that there is but one strawberry
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raised in Hood Rivci? Clarke's Seed
ling. The fame of this berry reaches
from coast to coast and 1s alwavs
known as the "Hood River Strawberry."
A.uu pernasa ine mom vaiuaoie lesson
he learns is the secret of keeping out
11 pests through the persistent use of
the right kind of .sprays at the right
time. -The Hood River e-fnwor rlnoa
not wait-until the poBt gets into his or
chard to fight it ha uses the ounce of
prevention In preference to the pound of
cure and the codlin moth and San Joee
scale find a warm reception In the shape
Of arsenate of lead, Bordeaux mixture,
lime and sulphur,- while the 'aphis Is
treated to a fatal din. The snravlnr for
codlin moth Is begun lust as the blos
som petals begin to fall and Is applied
several times during the summer. Scale
and , all fungus, growth "are- treated In
the late.f fall ' and ear ly spring . before
blooming and aphis at anytime it ap
pears.. The,, -Very m careful attention
given tospraylng results In the apple
crops 'here running almost entirely first
grade; only 2 per cent of the apples run
ning culls, . -.
Method, of Cultivation. '
The method Of cultivation fnllnwaA
has much to do with this blar
age of first grade fruit. The careful
orchardlst works his soil very thorough-.
iy uetore planting trees, generally (put
ting In some othse-eFOo for - eeeae-te
?et the ground In perfect condition. In
act, greatest ' Importance attaches .to
the preparation of the soil and it Is
plowed and harrowed until thorouirhlv1
pulveili-ed, wMch aljowg the Joun roou I
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let to be unhampered in absorbing
nourishment and free growth. The holes
for planting are dug two feet deep and
about three feet .wide, the top layer of
soil being placed next to the roots In
filling. No dead roots are. left where
the young roots can come In contact
with them. As low-headed trees are
the most desirable to handle the young
stock Is cut off about 20 Inches above
the ground after planting. There are
two systems of pruning one the so
called vase system;; the other that of
pruning to a central leader, ah trees
are. kept sufflently open to admit the
sun and color the fruit on the Inside
01 the tree evenly. - ,-.
A uniformity of size Is attained by
the systematic thinning t of the apples
on the trees, a space of from i to 8
inches being left between-each apple -on
a branch, and only one apple from each
cluster. . This 'prevents any two apples
touching- and forming a hiding place for
moth and . also enables the spray s to
reach all portions of the fruit. Through
out xne growing season me sraii is Kept
In a tfclean' state of cultivation, a dost
mulch -non tha surface conserving the
moisture, In this connection , the. sub
ject of Irrigation oomes up.L;i.i,viv.i.y.,.
- Trees '. Vot Irrigated. y'Xy.
' ?As-a rule. young trees .are not Irri
gated at all, a tar better root system
being - attained - If - they - are- allowed to
reach for natural moisture. - Many or
chardists do not irrigate after the trees
are In bearing, maintaining that apples,!
nave better iiavor ana Keep oetter with
out; iUQ.thers , use the .water once or
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twice In a season. For the production
of berries and other small fruits,, as
well as for clover and alfalfa. It Is a
necessity and forces a wonderful ' pro
duction. The water supply is unlimited,
being taken from Hood river and smaller
streams which rise In the snows of
Mount Hood. There are several fine
irrigation systems threading the valley
nd the visitor is Impressed with the
fact that he never gets away from the
sound of running water. There are also
a great number of fine springs and, the
well water is as soft, clear and spark
ling as that of springs and,, mountain
streams. i;. "-,, T;-
I will quote the officers of the Hood
River Commercial club and Apple Grow
ers union in telling of the wonderful
returns from apple orchards in this -valley,
and these statements can be vouched
for. We are prepared at Hood River to
introduce visitors to the growers -who
have netted 500 to 11.400 per acre on
their orchards and show- on ' the books
of the union what amounts of cash have
oeea paid these orcnaraists. Klgbt now
the trees are so loaded with vounir- f mlt
that it would be a physical impossibil
ity for the trees to bear Its weight if
allowed to mature,, so a vigorous thin
ning Is In nrogress and after the fimt
drop another thinning -will . be given.
From far and wide fruit men come from
other districts to learn of Hood River's
successful methods, simple as they are,1
declares - the commercial club.. It has
been found that the apple grows beat
at Hood River under the clean cultiva
tion system, which conserves tho moist-1
ure aud allows all .the nutriment of the
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soli to go Into the making of both tree
and fruit. Spraying, to kill all Insect
life that is injurious to the growing
of perfect apples, IS rigidly adhered to,
and so careful In this respect are or
chardiHts here that less than two per
cent of the entire crop Is found to be
Imperfect. In this respect the cose of
one orchard can be cited, that last year
bore 2,000 boxes in which there wore
during the whole season but 60 wormy
apples. Another feature is thinning or
picking off part of the fruit. when It is
small in order Jo allow, that which, re
mains to get more nourishment, grow to
a larger size and not exhaust the life of
the tree. . . Twenty acres- is considered
all that one orchardlst can properly
care for, but from such immense prof
its as $300 to SS00 ner acre and more.
such a large Income is provided that it
pays better returns than several hun
dred acres of farming in other branches.
Other Apple Sistrie.s.
While -other aoDle-Erowinar districts
lay great stress on the quantity of ap
ples they grow, the slogan of Hood
River is not quantity but 'quality.' The
courage of Its growers to uphold the
standard or perrection nas won lor Its
fruit a name for excellence the world
over a'rid has brought Its reward. Never1
was tills tact more ruuy demonstrated
than in 1906, when one of the bicrcest
apple crops ever grown In the United
states was piacea on tne market- while
huvers were taklnar their choice In nth..
districts at that time for 83 cents and
11 a oox mooo. mver, wnicn marketed
the ble'8t crop In Its hlstorv. re.l
from 12 to 13.16 a box for Its fruit,
sold all It bad and could not supply the
demand. '. '
It la tins tnat is making Hood River
land double in'value and attracting many
Investors. During the season of 1907,
when the apple crop was a short .nn
and estimated to be but S4 per cent 0
normal, ana was in many districts a
total failure,. Hood River had from 60
to 70 ner cent of a full croD. ,n,l wm
Its apples for the highest prices the
world has ever known. The fact tnat
wnen omer uimnriH grei nign prices
Hood River gets still higher la rnnrin..
ive evidence that its fruit Is considered
me oeai ujai grows, ana tnat ' qual
ity" navs.
While as high as $S.50 per box was
oald for - Hood River 8Ditxenbru- r.
pies in 1907. the average price for sev
eral years was aoout ia.o. On this
basis a 10-acre Bpitsenberg or' Xewtown
apple orchard will M net growers from
iD.uuv 10 i.uu ana in some instances
more. Authorities on the apple produc
tion of Hood River rdace the vleld of
seven-year-old Spltsenberg trees plant
ed so to tne acre at live boxes to the
tree, or 32a boxes to the acre. A 20
acre orchard on this basis will produce
e.hun ooxes wmcn. at tne averse price
of 12.40 a. box, gives a total of Jls,6uu
POTS.
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SPKYtKe THE FftViT
Highest Prices Paid for.
Apples Obtained byj
any fruit District!
of the World
as the earnings of a 20-acre orchard for
one year. ... .
At tbe prices obtained for Newtowns
the average Is 12.60 but the Newtowr.s
being more prolific than the Spltzen'
berg produces seven boxes to the tree
instead of five at the same afro, giv
ing 466 boxes to the acre, or 9,100 boxes
for a 20-acre orchard, earning as caa
easily be seen, $18,200.
' Expect Good Crops. -
' While It has hot been thought that
fir Ices would be as high this year as
ast, on account of the Dumper crops la
sight, the fact that so many of the ap
ple growing districts of the south and
middle west have been visited bv dam
aging frosts leads to the. hope that the
high figures will again be attained. Trie
fortunate owner of a fair sited bearing
orchard has a fortune awaiting him at
harvest.
Land ought to be worth what It will
pay Interest on, but In the Hood River
valley orchards sell for $1,000 to $1,600
per acre which nets 10 per cent on 8,-
uotj to ,uu. uonsiaenng-- prices on
this basis they" will appear extremely
conservative to the thinking man. It
4s -qultejjosBlWe-f otL. ihe poor man to..
get a start nere in xaci xne majority
of our richest orchardists started with
nothing. Uncleared land In the higher
foothills and unDer valley can be had
all the way from $30 to $100 pei acre,
the cost of clearing ranging between the
same figures. In many Instances a tim
bered tract will almost pay for Its own
clearing with the wood or saw logs. Tlia
buyer with a few thousand at his dis
posal generally, purchased a small tract
having some clearing or young orchard.
This, gives him an opportunity to sup
port his ."family off the cleared ground
while he Is putting "the balanco." Into or
chard. The prevailing-custom of rais
ing strawberries as a side crop between
f'oung trees while orchards are-- grow
ng has proven-very - successful and n
many cases tnis method. has been matin
to Day for the land and cost of raisins
an orchard. . There Is always day labor
to be had by the man who wants to rum
some cash. on the outside, the big lum
ber mills paying tine wages and tho.
work In orchards always beinr available.
At harvest time pickers and packers ar
in great ' demand .and good wages -are
earned.. ; This ; also holds - good in tin
strawberry season. '
V.;-old a. tas Trees. '
The fact that his" apples ere practic
ally sold, while en the tree and Unit he
Is not responsible for the shipment of
them strongly appeals-to the Hood Icivnr
orchardlst. If he markets through the
union he Is sure of the hlsrhest orlo-.i
and only has to deliver his crop at tlm
warehouse in town. Corps of expert
ckera come to his arDle house and
grade and pack bis fruit, the cost of
this being S cents per bushel box. Tim
entire cost of raising apples. Including
every detail of .cultivation, spraying,
thinning, picking, packing, boxes and
Dor, is ou cents per oox, ami one J;in;
orchardlst put his crop out for 4S cents
last year. At the prices quoted for
first grade apples the net profit will ha
seen to be far in excess of that derive !
from any legitimate commercial buslncj-s
or the cities. .
. As mentioned, cherry culture Is coin
ing Into favor here, tue altitude of ti n
upper valley seeming to produce ton
linest irult or this kind ever uiai k ic.i.
All kinds of small fruits grow to . gn-Mt
perfection, and - there Is-no -celery or
asparagus in the country wnn-ii c;.u
beat ours. The strnwoerry cruji
from "0,000 to 100,000 crates per s.-. 1
and nets from $150 to $100 t-r -v.
This year the berries sppear to tie 1 -and
finer than ever before and tli. i ; ;
started In at $4 per crate, tmr .''"
are carefully culiel and P'S'!.
never reach the canneries. U -'
care is exercised in handling t'i-m ;
In apples and they are In gr.Ht i. ..;.. i
all over the country.
The lumber industry I. on" "t :f -
Importance t this vallev ..v.-r ... .
000 worth havtlig been sold .", t -. 1
four year. It is estnnut-I t t
Is enough yet stamlmg 1 ' '' 1 ; '
st the present rate of cuttin;.-. 1 t '
ntt which tills timber H cut f i -
excellent fruit land ! "'"
very cheap sllhousii tf t ' '
rather, expensive.
. Trant'irtat-'oa I "
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beat lu t tui I'Kcific i..-
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