17
WILLAMETTE 'VALLEY IDEAL PLACE FOR
WING PR UNE&
The New Oregon Statesman, Salem, Oregon, Sunday Morning, October U, 1928
Valley's Prune Industry
Experiences Its Poorest
Season, Reports Indicate
Willamette Valley as, Well as Southern Oregon and Clark
County, .Washington, Close to Harvest Failure but.
Future is Declared Brighter
THE Willamette Valley Prase association is one of the oldest con
cerns in that industry in this section; processing and packing
and finding markets for the shipping prunes. The managers are
W. T. Jenks and H. S. Glle, who have been witn the concern from
the beginning, tn the eighties. Mr. Qile and Mr. Jenks are also prune
growers on an extensive scale. They have over 300 acres of bear
ing prune orchards, in Marion and Yamhill counties. This was the
worst year ever experienced, in
the prune industry here: all over
the prune districts of the Willam
ette valley and southern Oregon
and Clark county, Washington
nearest to a total crop failure.
Mr. Jenks said' the total Oregon
prune crop in the dried product
this year was about 4500 tons;
about 10 per cent of a normal
crop of 90,000.000 pounds.
Crop Below Normal
When it is considered that we
had a good crop on the petite or
weet prune trees, it is seen that
the Oregon, or Italian, or tart
prune crop, was less than 10 per
cent of normal though as yet our
western Oregon and Washington
districts have not a large propor
tion of the petites. The estimat
ed yield given by Mr. Jenks in
cludes the eastern -Oregon crop,
in Umatilla county. These are all
Oregons or Italians; though the
growers over there have been sell
ing most of their crops for fresh
fruit shipments or canning. This
year, however, they dried a larger
proportion than heretofore. They
had a fair crop.
Mnch Prune Canning .
There also was a larger propor
tion than usual of the Italian
prune crop canned this year than
usual. Every Salem cannery ran
at least one shift on prunes as
long as the harvest lasted, ship
ping in -considerable tonnage of
their supply from the Umatilla
districts. The prospects are that
the canning pack will in the fu
ture be up to the limit of the har
vest season in siie. The harvest
or picking season, however, for
prunes is not long three weeks
or so. j
In years of normal' or bumper
rrops. tbe canning demand does
not make much of a dent in the
supply here. A bumper crop on
our acreage might run Tar abos
100.000,000 pounds ot -the dried
fruit, V . -
It Will Persist
Mr. Jenks says not many grow
ers have grubbed up their prune
trees; and some new acreage Is
coming into fuW bearing, though
the new plantings have been coin
paratlvely very small since 1920.
Many growers could not' finance
the cost of proper cultivation. As
this year's fruit spurs make next
year's crop, large losses may be
made on next year's income for
our prunes; especially ii case of
a good price year.
Prospects for good prices In
1929 are encouraging. California
has taken care of a 375.000,000
dried prune crop this year; nearly
all petites, against a 420.000.000
crop of last year. The European
crop is short. A sample of this is
the French crop of 2500 tons
against S000 tons last year, and
larger tonnages In former years.
Bo the boards will likely be clear
before the. curing of the 1929
crop. There Is a world prune
shortage.
Some Xew Varieties .
How about the new varieties?
These men are experimenting with
several, including the Burton, a
tart prune but not as tart as tbe
Italian or Oregon. A promising
fruit of large siae. Also the Noble
French, a large sweet prune.
Also the date or Coatea prnne.
The trouble with marketing the
new varieties is their small quan
tities. But Mr. Jenks says their
concern could now fill a five to
10 car order of the Coates prunes,
the acreage in which is growing.
There is still another newcom
er, not yet named, a seedling of
a petite, discovered by S. P. Mr
Cracken of 830 North Commercial
street. Salem. It Is a nice looking
fruit dried, and runs much larger
than the ordinary petite.
Perhaps the time will come
soon when there will be a chance
to market a large tonnage of the
new varieties. Mr. Jenks Is ex
perimenting and taking samples
He does not even presume to
give any advice on new plantings.
But when asked about the advis
abiHtv of grubbing up prune trees
in this district, he said the Gile
and Jenks people are not grubbing
up any of their trees, nor neglect
ing them.
What Caused It
What made the short crop,
the most disastrous shortage in
the history of the Industry here?
It was not frost. It was he tor
rential rains of April, when the
Italian prune trees were In full
bloom: preventing fertilization of
the blossoms. Even the busy beet
could not work; for there were for
days on end no sunshine at all. It
never happened befere to oar
prune trees. It may never happen
again in the life time of people
now here. The petite blossoms
had come earlier and already feci
tlllzed before the steady downpom
began.
WHAT IS IT?
SEE
THEO. M. BARR
- Phone 192 ;
FRUIT t
T
S. H. Van Trump, fruit inspec
tor of Marion county', has been
busy for several days harvesting
hsi walnnt crop, out Sllverton
way, so the reporter could not get
an interview from him.
Mr. Van Trump has stated sev
eral times, in Slogan issues, that
he thinks the best prune lands are
on the low grounds; the loamy
soils. Or the first beneh lands.
In the high hills, growers are find
ing it difficult to get large sizes.
Mr. Van Trump has pronounced
ideas on the importance of fertili
sation, spraying and pruning.
There should be thorough prun
ing. He thinks favorably of tbe
sweet prune. He has seen several
of the large sized new sweet
prunes tried out. He thinks a
great deal of the Noble French,
though it was a shy bearer in
1927. It has in other years shown
persistency in heavy bearings.
He estimates that there are 12.-
000 acres of prunes In Marion
county, and 8000 in POlk county,
The Marlon county orchards, all
properly tended, might produce
in a bumper crop year 24.000,000
pounds of dried prunes, and the
Polk county orchards 16,000.000
pounds.
It ought to be said that the O.
A. Gt people are favorable to the
Noble French variety.
. Plenty of Prunes
It will be noted that a possible
bumper crop year tn Marlon and
Polk counties, producing 40.000,.
000 pounds of dried prunes, would
make more than four times the
total toncfige of Oregon and
Washington for the present year,
as estimated by W. T. Jenks.
Mr. Jenks. however, believes
that the estimate of 1 2.0 00 acres
of prune tree Ja Jfarlon county
and 8.000 acres la Polk county Is
perhaps high.'
The indications are that the
additional plantings for the im
mediate future will be largely of
the varieties of sweet prunes run
ning to large sizes.
Custom Sawing
Soft and Hard Wood
SALEM WOOD
MANUFACTURING CO.
Phone 754 River Street
Between Front and Com'l.
STaup Twt Stm7 tm Orga Bay
Uonoaa.au Mad a at Salm. Oraca
CAPITA! KOHtTSTJOrTAXi WOUI
3. O. Jonas It Ca, Proprietor
All Kluta f Monaamrmlat Wart -factory
aa4 OfTiear
aUO 8. Caaa'l. OppoaiU L Ol 07 r:
Caaatair, Bas SI
Phaaa CSS Salae. Oiag
GIDEON STOLZ CO.
Manufacturers off
Vtaegar. Soda Water,
Fountain S applies
Salem Phone 98 Ore.
GROWS
PRUNES
Capitol Bargain and
Junk House
105-145 Center ' Tel. S98
All Kinds of Junk
Bought and Sold
Anything from a Needle
to a Steam Engrae
CASH PAID TOR RAGS, BOTTLES, BARRELS, OLD
PAPER, CARPETS, IRON, WOOL, PELTS, GRAPE
ROOT, CHITTAM BARK, PEPPERMINT OIL, ETC.
Dates of Slogans in
(With a few possible changes)
Loganberries. October 1, -lilt."
Prunes. October 14,
Dairying;. October SI.
Flax. October 21.
Filberts, November 4.
Walnuts. November 11.
.Strawberries,' November It.
Apples, Figs, etc.. Not. It.
Raspberries, December 2.
Mint. December 9. . ,
Beans, ' etc., . December If.
Blackberries, December 11.
Cherries, December
Pears. January C. 1129.
Gooseberries. January 13.
Corn January 10. '
Celery, January 27.
Spinach, etc, February 3.
Onions, etc, February 10.
Potatoes, etc. February 17.
Bees, February 24.
Poultry and Pet Stock. Mar. 2.
City Beautiful, 'etc.. March 10.
Great Cows, March 17. -Pared
Highways, March 24.
Head Lettuce. March 11.'
Silos.' etc., April T.
Legumes, April 14.
Asparagus, etc, April 21.
PRUNE GROWER
WP ITE5LETTER
Noble Andrews Shows Faith
in Industry and Tells
Why He Believes
Noble Andrews, of Route S,
Box 67. Salem, has addressed the
following letter to the Slogan Ed
itor of the New Oregon Statesman:
'As this issue of your growing
and progressive paper contains
the annual report of present con
ditions and progress or future
bone of the prune Industry of the
Willamette valley, I am glad to do
what I can to help out. Probably
I have talked the prune subject
with many' more people than any
other man, as hundreds of people
know, and there are few people
satisfied with tbe prune situation
with pr sent conditions, whether
the growers or buyers or prune
packers. The little petite Is a
good prune, but Very difficult to
get sizes worth while. The Italian
is a good caner and a good dryer,
and was once a mortgage lifter
for the Willamette valley, and
many have faith that it will come
back to its own. " .
The New Ones
"Then we have several " new
prunes which seem to be very
promising, and I know many men
who have orchards of the older
varieties and are planning; on
working over or grafting in witu
new varieties. Each grower
should acquaint himself with the
new varieties. We want a good
growing, prolific tree, a tree that
will stand under a heavy load;
one that will grow a large, uni
form prune. Also I would advise
the grower to consult the prune
packer as to the Quality of ( the
prune beet fitted for the market.
for we have a goodly number of
respectable, trustworthy prune
buyers and packers who have lots
of money Invested in large eqiup
ped buildings, who, not like the
grower who lost faith and grub
bed up his prune orchard, are still
hopeful and willing to advise in
the prune industry.
The Noble French
"Now I hope that I will not be
thought of as personal or selfish
when I refer to the Noble French
prune, one which has had my very
careful - consideration in every
way for four years of growing
and drying and canning.
O a !; 1 a n d
Pontine
Sales and Service
VICK BROS.
High Street at Trade
BRING IN
YOUR NEW WHEAT
And exchange it for hard wheat
patent flour, or any of our long
list of milling specialties. We
do custom grinding. We sup
ply what you need for what
you have.
CHERRY CITY MILLING CO.
Salem, Oregon.
481 Trade St. Phone 818
Everything in Building
Materials
Cobb. & Mitchell
A. B. Kelsay, Manager
849 S. 12th St. Phone 818
Oregon Statesman
Grapes, etc., April 28.
Drug Garden, May 6.
Sugar Industry,' May 12.
Water Powers, May 10.
Irrigation. May 2C.
Mining. June 2.
Land. Irrigation, etc., June 9.
Floriculture, June' If.
Hops. Cabbage, etc, June 22.
Wholesaling. Jobbing, June 30.
Cucumbers, etc, July 7.
Hogs. July 14.
Goats. July 11.
Schools, July 28.
Sheep, August 4.
Seeds, August 11.
National Advertising. Aug. . IS.
Livestock. August 21.
drain A Grain Products,-Sept. 1
Manufacturing, Sept. 8.
Woorworklng. etc., Sept. 1&.
Automotive Industries Sept. 22.
Paper Mills. epl 25. .
(Back copies of the Sunday
edition of The Daily Oregon
Statesman are on. hand. They,
are for sale at 10' cents each,
mailed to any address. - -
Current topics, accents.
72,000 Pounds
Dried at McNary's Farm
This Season Says Report
TTnitri State liiatnr f!ha T.
McXary and Walter T. Stalts had
this year of almost total prune
crop- failure 722,000 pounds of
dried nrnnaq Thin w&a made Dos-
slble by a diversity of varieties.
They have been experimenting for
several years. The crop this year
was gathered from trees of thej
Coates, the Imperials, the regular
petites, and the Italians. The
highest quality product came from
the trees of the Imperial, variety.
The start of these trees come from
California, where they were de
veloped by Mr. Gillette, the rather
of the nut Industries of California,
who traveled the world over for,
the United States rovernment.
looking for tbe best kinds and va
rieties for 11 so on thla fnnt The
coates or date prune was origin
ates in polk county. The Imperi
al product sold fort rmntm a
pound, and the others at rood
prices.
Diversity the Answer.
Speakln of the nrune Indnstrv
for this district vesterdar. Mr.
Stolx said diversity in varieties is
the answer, for stabilizator
There was never before a year
like this, since we grew prunes;
mere may not be another in 100
vears but it mar come nv Mr
The heavy and steady April rains
in iiaiian prune blooming time
did it: nrevented fT-tnMtinn t
the blossoms. The petites and all
me otner sweet prune tree blos
soms had already fertillted. Re
sult, a full crop. But our growers
hare so far very few
excepting the Italians.
4300 Bushels Prune
The McNarr and stoi firm
gathered 4300 bushels of prunes
to make the 72,000 pounds of the
dried product; 10 acres of Impe
rials, la acres or the Coates and
five ocres of common French or
petite prunes, mostlv
In a 5 acre prune orchard!
Only about 300 bushels of prunes
THIS WEEK'S SLOGAN
DID YOU KNOW That Salem has been the largest pri
mary prune market in the world for Oregon ("Italian")
prunes, the tart-sweet prunes of quality; that her lead
as a prune center will be maintained by our packing,
canning, and other concerns, and by improvements in
the growing of fine, large sizes; that new and moire
profitable varieties are coming in; that new marketing
outlets, among them manufactured products from
prunes, are constantly being opened; that prunes for the
grower ought to be "as good as wheat," as reliable, and
much more profitable; and that there is plenty of cheap
land yet to be had in this district for the growing of
prunes, and new growers who will produce quality fruit
and quality fruit only wiQ be made welcome?
i-i i
For New Achievements on
the Farm
The TWENTY joins tbe "Caterpillar"
family of 2-TON, THIRTY, SIXTY
welcomed to a new place on the farm
r r new in size, new in rating, but old in
the accomplishments that have made
every "Caterpillar" the model of better,
quicker, cheaper power. ,
tf another compact and powerful
"Cateipillar" with long, wide tracks that
.grip firmly in mud or sand, that treads
lightly on plowed ground r r traction to
defeat tough soil in dry seasons..
f t amazing endurance that assures long
life, low upkeep and cheap horsepower
hours to get things done on time, cutting
costs, speeding planting, harrcsts, profits.
There should be sv traek-tyn i MCkterp01arM on vow farm
&
rOHTLAXD
Loggers
Machinery
of Prunes
on 35 acres- of Italians; hardly
worth the picking money.
The McXary and Stolz farm is
near the river road pared connty
highway- on the Marion county
side. It bas 200 acres in all.
The Other Crops
Among their other crops this
year were eight acres of cherries.
on which they had a satisfactory
return. They got a ctod of three
to four tons of walnuts this year,
and over half a ton or filberts.
The filbert trees are young. They
bore a few nuts last year, which
were sold for $40. This year, the
crop is worth $400. Showing how
fast the annnal increase Is made.
even by young trees.
They have 25 acres in filberts,
and 60 acres in walnuts. All
young trees.
They have had for several years
a small experimental planting of
filberts. They have tried many
varieties, from all the filbert
countries. They settled on the
Barcelona for their main planting.
They are experimenting also "in
walnuts. They expect to develop
or select a round walnut, which
seems to be preferred by the mar
kets. Mr. Stalx believes this will
be; forthcoming within a short
time.
They are also experimenting
with other varieties of prunes, and
expect to continue. They expect
to follow their own advice for the
diversification of prunes In vari
eties grown.
Herbert Hoover has a 1313 acre
California farm that is largely an
experimental station. The Senator
McNary farm (in partnership with
Mr. Stolz) is much the same
thing. Senator McNary was the
first filbert booster in the Salem
district. He wrote a series of ar
ticles that was published in The
Statesman before we had any
commercial plantings here, and
when the average reader thought
it was a fad.
S53E 3TIHIE
Contractors
Compaiy
COLLEGE DOES
NOTABLE IRK
Value of 0. A. C. to Farming
Industries of State
is Enormous
One of the most if not the most
notable achievement of the Orer
gon experiment station in its his
tory is that of solringie-problem
of removal of spray residue from
apples ami pears, say James T.
Jardine, director of the fetation, in
his biennial report tothe presi
dent and board of regents of the
Oregon Agricultural college . just
released. Just two years after the
crisis first appeared, the fruit
crop of the northwest is being
harvested in an orderly manner
and placed on the market in bet
ter condition than ever in history.:
Credit is also given growers and
equipment companies for cooper-H
ation in meeting the unforeseen i
situation.
Other Achievements j
Director Jardine calls attention!
in connection with other especially
notable achievements of the ela
tion for period to discovery that
western yellow tomato Mht and
related diseases of truck r-ops are
really caused by the sugar beet
curly top virus, discovery that
"breaking" of tulips Is causedfby
a mosaic disease, perfection of a
means of control of infectious
abortion in daTry cattle, exhaust
ive studies in immunization of
chickens from coccidiosls. intro
duction of several new crops and
perfection of a new method of
vaccinating fowls against chicken
pox.
In listing the activities of the
station for the biennium, the di
rector calls attention to the item
ized estimate two years ago in
dicating that benefits to the agri
cultural industry of the state from
station accomplishments ap-oach
station accomplishments ap
proached $10,000,000 annually.
There is justmeaclon now for
increasing rather than decreasing
these estimates, he says. Listed
then as bringing huge money re
turns were better farm crops and
cultural methods introduced, fer
tilizers developed, disease and
pest control methods worked out.
and development of "higher pro
ducing poultry stock.
Antiques & Cabinet Work
Genuine Antiques or Copies a
Specialty. "If we can't buy the
antique you want, we can copy
It."
VENT ANTIQUE SHOP
Phone 1476J. 2S60 State St.
W. W. ROSEBRACGH
COMPACT
Manufacturers of
Warm Air Furnaces, Fruit Dry
Ins; Stores, Smoke Stacks.
Tanks, Steel and Foundry
Work. Welding a Specialty.
17th Oak Sts. Salem, Ore.
YOU can do a mighty creditable, if not a
professional job yourself in giving your,
good old car a new finish at little costN
is a high grade easy flowing: enamel that stands
motor heat and weather. Comes
in a wide selection of choice, up-to-date, inodishl
colors. Let us show you color cards.
Gabriel Powder j&(Sfi
"WCapaud'Uuko"'' '; 'J ' - K Tdephie 2m4723 f
While the business .of the ex
periment station is essentially one
of fact finding, says Director Jar
dine, service rendered by members
of the staff included for the dien
nium. 26,300 letters in reply to
requests for information; 11,800
consultations, 2560 identifications
of plant and insect specimentr.
193.000 tests for bacillary diar
rhea in -poultry. 15.000 tests for
infections abortion in cattle. 1630
germination and putity tests of
seeds, 2200 purity tests of milk
and water, 300 soil analyses and
identifications. 10.000 doses of
vaccine distributed; legume cul
ture supplied for 7000 acres, 500
addresses at public meetings,
more than .100 radio talks and nu
merous fair exhibits and popular
press articles supplied.
Experiment station publications
for the biennium included 13 bul
letins. 9 printed circulars com
monly considered bulletins and
11 brief mimeographed reports
known as circulars of Information.
Where strawberry plantings in
Oregon are Infested with the
crown borer this time of year, the
only efefctive way of handling
them is by pulling up and de
stroying infested plants. The
small" root weevils are controlled
in the spring by poisoning but
this is not effective with the larg
er borers which are a different
species, says the entomology de
partment of the O. At C. experi
ment station.
Diversify
THE answer to prune industry stabilization for this dis-r
trict is diversification in variety. Note the news item on -
the Slogan page concerning the prune crop this year on the
i t a . i mi e i. t n r xt ... J lir.l i
I arm oi united duties senator vnas. j. mvivuiy au witc
T. Stolz. That is part of the answer !
The other is the larger use of our prunes in drinks and"1
confections and marketable packages of divers kinds. Ad- J
vertising, too; and articles' made of prunes in whole or in ;
part that will advertise themselves.
Salem is the pioneer prune city of this section. The in-' '
Hnatrv raaa etnrtfl Vipro hv Fir TI J Minthnrn and R. S.
Cook, and the Oregon Land company, when Herbert Hoover
worked for them. Mr. Hoover then lived with Dr. Minthorn,
T 1 I
wno was nis uncie.
i H. S. Gile and W. T. Jenks, managers of the Willamette
Valley Prune association, still active and owning large prune
orchards, were among the pioneers.
' This is too great an industry to let lag. There are trees
enough in the Salem trading area to produce around 100,
000,000 pounds of dried prunes in a bumper crop year if v
every tree were given the attention its importance and po-
tential value deserve. The lowly prune has come into the!
aristocracy in the family of fruits, and it is capable of high-
er values. We need leadership. We need stictoativeness as
well. Let's persist in prunes, and fill our manifest destiny as C
the world's greatest prune center.
Oregon Pulp & Paper Co.
Manufacturers of
BOND LEDGER GLASSINE
GREASEPROOF TISSUE
Support Oregon Products
Specify "Salem Made" Paper for Your
Office Stationery
mni GDi ill!
ON VAST
Close to a half million acres fa :
the Willamette valley alone as
well as thousands in other parts)
of Oregon have been found by soil
surveys to be suitable for use of
supplemental irrigation. Much of
this land can have water applied. j
only by means of pumping from
shallow wens or open streams.
For many years tests and elabo-.
'i
rate experiments with this type of "
irrigation have been conducted by,
the soils department of the Ore
gon Agricultural college exprU
ment station, results- of which.?
have just been embodied in a new;).
bulletin, "The Economic Limit, it.
rumping lor irrigation, oy i;rw
W I.. Powers.
Economic Returns
f.ni
The bulletin discusses the ad
vantages and economic returns of
such irrigation, factors to be con
sidered in establishing it, location!'
ni wens nna dudidibi
types of pumps for varying con-,:
ditions, power to be used and ffe-s
nally, methods of applying the,,.,
water.
"Crops found to give best. T-t.
sponse to supplemental Irriga- '
tion are the truck crops.'
in Variety
; s S'il
'