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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1957)
Income From Estimated $1 Stone Fruits Million IrHere (Edilor'i note: How Is agriculture doing in Jackson county? What is its futura? How does it stack up as com pared to the past? What are the major items of income? (The following is one of a series of six articles, prepared by the Mail Tribune in cooperation with the county agricultural extension office and others, in an attempt to answer these questions.) Stone fruits contribute about SI million annually to the ag ricultural income of Jackson county. This Is about 119 of the estimated gross horticultural in come, and about 1'28 of the estimated income derived from all agricultural enterprises. Much Competition The story of Jackson county's on-again-off-again peach produc tion could be summed up in one- wosi competition. Until the 1980 s there were no peaches in the county. Then about 400 acres of early Craw fords were planted in the Ash land area. When the trees began bearing fruit, growers found a good California market. Peach production became a major agricultural enterprise, and harvest and processing pro vided a strong source of income for residents. But .Californians soon began raising their own peaches. They developed late season varieties, which by 1930 had viratually forced .Jackson county growers out of the mark et. Plant J. H. Hales Local growers met the Calif o r n i a challenge by planting about 1,500 acres of J. H. Hales. There were ready for market even later than the California grown varieties, and markets opened there. Another import ant market opened in Portland. Yakima peaches then came in to the picture and eventually dominated the Portland market. But Jackson county growers fought back with high quality J. ' H. Hales and Rio Oso Gems. These varieties were welcomed in California and also enjoyed some popularity in Portland. The market picture was good for about 15 years. Then Calif ornians began developing com peting varieties and demand for local peaches declined. Revised Acreage Tough competition resulted In reduction of acreage, which now totals only about 1,000. Most of the acreage is concentrated in the Phoenix area, with some in Medford and Ashland. Pack ing and selling are now being conducted both by packing, houses and on an individual grower basis and it appears the "small grower" here is being squeezed out of the peach in dustry. Necessity has been emphas sized in recent years for small growers to channel their fruit through1 central packing or sell ing plants. The stone fruit subcommittee of the Jackson County Ag ricultural council -has recom mended that a market reporting service be established and that local growers assume the ex pense for such a service. Cordy said, "Peaches grown here are of as high quality as those grown anywhere. But we need a greater volume of pro duction (in the hands of fewer sellers) to command market at tention." The stone fruit subcommittee has recommended that plantings of late varieties for commercial shipping be not less than 10 acres in size. More Changes Production of cherries was al so once considered a major ag ricultural enterprise here, but has undergone drastic changes in the past quarter-century. Until the late 1930's, there were about 400 acres of cher ries in the county. The leading varieties were Bings, Lamberts and Royal Annes. Then, cherry trees became infected with al bino, a virus causing the fruit to shrivel and turn white. The disease eliminated most com mercial ' orchards and in 10 years, acreage dropped to about 200. Now there are only an estimated 90 acres of cherry trees in the county. Southern Oregon branch ex periment station officials have conducted much research in an effort to find albino-resistant cherries. Tests are now being conducted on several of these varieties. It is hoped that in a few years one or two albino resistant varieties will be ready for commercial plantings here. Committee Recommendations The stone fruit subcommittee of the Jackson County Ag ricultural count.il is encourag ing continuation of these efforts and has recommended that no sweet cherries be planted until a suitable virus-resistant type is developed. The committee has also con cluded that production of sour cherries in this area is not pro fitable in competition with heavy production in other sec tions of the nation. Jackson county once had about 6,000 acres of apples, but -apple acreage now totals about 400. Cordy gives two main rea sons for this reduction: (1) Growers planted varieties which were difficult to raise and were not well accepted by con sumers. (2) Trees were planted on heavy, wet soil and consequent ly contracted crown rot and died. With regard to the future of apple production here, the apple and pear subcommittee of the agricultural council had this to say: "Some interest has been shown in small apple plantings. This has been confined largely to the dwarf and semi-dwarf types. However, lack of stable markets would seem to make any large plantings inadvisable at this time." Growers here can produce high quality apricots, but there are only about 45 acres at the present time, Cordy stated. This amount of acreage the county has had in the past. Cordy says apricots have always been a local-market product and com petition, especially from Calif ornia, has been keen. This has tended to discourage expansion of Jackson county apricot pro duction. Susceptible To Disease 1 Apricots are also readily sus ceptible to disease and are dif ficult to culture, Cordy note. They require well-drained soil and frost-free locations. The stone fruit subcommittee of the agricultural council has in dicated an increase in plantings may be desirable if the plant ings are on well-drained land in areas out of frost danger. The committee added that new plant ings should be on soil where good cultural methods can be followed in order to produce high quality fruit. There is a limited filbert and walnut acreage here and no pro duction increase is recommend ed at this time, according to C jrdy. This area is remote from processing facilities, he pointed out, and market returns are not great enough to justify more plantings. 2 Insurance Men Form Partnership Cole Holmes, long-time . Med ford insurance man, is in San Francisco this week, completing arrangements with insurance companies for the licensing of the recently-formed The Holmes and House of Insurance. Holmes, who this month ob served the -37th anniversary of his active participation in the insurance business in Medford, has formed a partnership with Dick House. The agencies oper ated by the two men have been merged. Holmes said he plans to re main active in the business. For the time being the two agencies are operating separate ly, but will be joined in office space as soon as adequate ac commodations are located. Both men have been active in civic, fraternal and service group activities in Medford fot a -long period of years. Holmes came to Medford in 1909, and became associated with his fa ther's agency in 1920. In 1926, upon his father's death, he assumed control of the agency. House has been,, a resi dent of Medford since 1946 af ter leaving service in the Army during World War II. Plumbing, Heating Group Schedules Convention About 200 people are expect ed to attend the annual conven tion of the Oregon Association of Plumbing and Heating con tractors here next month. The convention will be held May 3 and 4 at the Medford ho tel. Officers of the association are Walter Widmer, Portland, presi dent; George Abrahamson, As toria, vice-president; Frank Bur fitt, Portland, secretary; Eugene Spaniol, Stayton, treasurer; and Roscoe E. Watts, Portland, executive secretary. , Quotes From the News By UNITED PRESS Washington Sen. William F. Knowland, in calling for further U.N. action on behalf of the freedom of Hungary: "Is the conscience of the world that was so thoroughly aroused in October and November to be complacent and satisfied in April and May?" New York New York Postmaster Robert Schaffer. on the extra-heavy load of mail New York postmen had to tote Monday: "I don't think there is any doubt this is. the biggest volume since the Christmas rush, when we hit a peak of 20 million in one day." Galveston, Tex. Teamster Union boss Dave Beck, on whether his recent appearance before the Senate Rackets committee will result in a contempt of Congress indictment or his ouster: "I've gone through these things for 40 years. It just runs off my back like water off a duck." , Miami Thirteen-year-old Richard Guillen on why he hitched a ride in a cramped compartment of a Venezuelan airliner from Caracas to Miami: "I wanted to scare my Mama and Papa." Richmond St. Clair Drake, Negro professor at a Chicago col lege, in a letter to officials of a dinner for "distinguished Vir ginians" who invited Drake and two other Negroes by mistake: "I always remember that Negroes played a significant part in the making of the first permanent English settlement at James town in Virginia." On The Side By E. V. Durling (Distributed by King Future Svadicate. Inc.) . Every year in . the United States about 15,000 girls of 15 years of age are married. An nually in this country about 250 females of 15 are divorced. Every year here about 340 wives of 15 become widows. So the statistics indicate. However, I have yet to meet a 15-year-old widow or divorcee. Depressing Drama The plays of Eugene O'Neill are enjoying successful revival. I concede that O'Neill was one of our greatest playwrights but his plays are too much on the morbid side for me. He was one of the most morbid of all mod ern playwrights. In 30 plays by him, there have been depicted 10 murders, six suicides, 19 deaths and six insanities. In "The Iceman Cometh," the play wright displayed some restraint as to morbidity. In that play there is only one murder and one suicide. Asides For over 25 years George Raft has paid his estranged wife 10 per cent of his income. George hasn't seen Mrs. Raft for 20 years. He says he isn't cer tain he would recognize her it he did . . . Minnesota means "land of the sky blue water." That's what a Minneapolis jour nalist claims. It doesn't. In In dian language Minnesota means "cloudy weather." Sidelights Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 23) men find beauty of face and figure more appealing in women than intelligence. That is why so many Libra executives have shapely "oomph girl" type sec retaries. Or, so say the stargaz ers . . . "Like Grant took Rich mond" is a frequently voiced expression. How did Grant take Richmond? Do you know the details? Or should your former history teacher blush for your ignorance? . Announcements Should divorces be announced as engagements and marriages are? It has been recently sug gested they should be. It is. not a new idea. Fifty or more years ago divorce announcements were not unusual. What follows is one that appeared in a Yank ton, S.D. newspaper: , "Mr. and Mrs. Peter Travis take the plea sure in announcing the divorce of their daughter, Philopena Amelia, from Mr. John Jones Robinson, Yankton, S.D., April 10, 1896." Get It Right -The great tenor, Enrico Car uso, was the' 19th and last child of his parents. So I note it said by a contemporary who should know better. Enrico was the 19th "child of his parents but not the last. From the brilliant ly written biography of Caruso written by Dorothy Caruso, I quote: "Anna Caruso had 21 children. Eighteen died. The Edmund E. Hass Vice-President Heine Northwest Compant I 1 fc y- v-; if" 5 1 QOvJr Since 1913 HOTEL MEDFORD LOBBY Phone 2-8379 Consult With Mr. Hass on INVESTMENT and RETIREMENT Programs Using the Securities of . . . Utilities Banks Insurance Industrial Investment Company Shares. Dependable Incomes of 5 to 6 Can Be Obtained. 'Other offices in Portland, Salem, Eugene, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Aberdeen, Bellingham, Yakima, Wenatchee and Walla Walla. nineteenth, Enrico, lived and be came perhaps the greatest sing er of all time." Desertion Charged To Soldier Hero Poitiers, France (U.PJ A 31- year- old Brooklyn soldier who disappeared from his Am erican World War II unit and turned up 11 years later as a French Army hero went on trial here today on charges of deser tion. Pvt. Vito Sala faces a possi ble death sentence on the charge that he deserted the 339th In fantry Regiment of the U. S. 100th Infantry Division in 1945. But the general courts mar tial will hear an almost incred ible tale of an amnesia victim who fought heroically with the French Foreign Legion in Al geria and Indochina. The tale is supported by French creden tials and the testimony, of psy chiatrists. Sala turned himself in to Am erican authorities at La Rochelle last October. He said he had suf fered from loss of memory and asked them to try to trace his past. U.S. Army records disclosed that Sala was listed as absent without leave from the 100th Division after a battle near Heil bron, Germany, in April, 1945. " Sala said he lost his memory during a shock and partially re gained it only during later shocks when he was fighting in Indochina and Algeria. French officials supplied - a bushel of testimonials to back Sala's claim. In recent years the average amount of cotton produced on an acre of ground has doubled in the United States, according to agricultural records. Tuesday, April 16. 1957 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNEFIVE Cool Weather Seen For Coming Month Washington U.R) The U. S. Weather Bureau forecasts that the next month will be a bit on the cool side over most of the eastern part of the nation. The 30-day outlook for mid April to mid-May is for below normal temperature averages east of the Continental Divide; except along the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast. Precipitation is expected to exceed normal over most areas between the Rocky and Appa lachian mountains. Subnormal amounts are indicated in the Northern Plains, upper Great Lakes area and west Texas. Imogene Crawley Named Vehicles Comptroller Salem (U.PJ Appointment ' Mrs. Crawley Will replace J. of Imogene Crawley as comp- R. Williams, wno nas ueen in me uumuci - sition in the comptroller's divis ion since mid-July, 1956, shortly after the Department of Motor Vehicles was set up. troller for the Department of Motor Vehicles, effective May 1, has been announced by James F. 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