, 1877-03-17
APPLES AND PEARS.
kSOMETHING ON THE PROFITS
OF ORCHARD CULTURE.
A NEGLECTED. BRANCH OF INDUSTRY

No portion of the Pacific coast can
vie with Southern California in the pro-
due ion of that class of fruits which be-
long strictly to neither the temperate or
tropical belts. but verge between the
two. In ths vlney ards of Los Angeles
the grape attains its greatest size and
fecundlty, not unfreq uentiy averaging
120 pounds to the single viLe in yard
containing rs high as 900 vines This
of course Is All t; e;orm"ns ieid but til.
wine makers never pay over fifty dol
lars per ton for them. hence the Income
is rot so large as might at first be sap
posed. he constant employment OF
labor on vines all throu. b the budding
season and III fact up to the very hou
when grapes are ripe enough to pick.
materially decreases the profits of vine
culture. Oranges have been more. pro
fitable there than any other crop SO far.
but it must be remembered that they
receive iha protection of the tariff npon
foreign fruits which does not work
similar advantage to grape-growers III
1866 gentleman named Ro q arrives
in Los Angeles from Tennessee with
some SIS 600 in money. He bought II
farm and began to set out orange trees.
L .st year be sold his spring crop for
$13 900 and his fall crop for $4,000
more. But for
CULTURE OF NORTHERN FRUITS,
Snch as apples and pears. Oregon
and Washington Territory are immeas-
urably in advance o. California; and
the coast sections Are preferable. when
ever sufficiently sheltered from the
winds, to the inland countries. The
finest apples and pears we have ever
seen in twenty-four years residence
ON this coast, were shown at the Olym
pia Fair in 1872 The California apples
save in Siskiyou and Humboldt ccun-
ties. are dry and pl by; they lack that
rich boquet and luscious juiciness of the
Oregon and Washington Territory ap-
plies. Yet you hear farmers dolefuliy
laEIenting hard times and saying "there
is no money in apples" Ii they expect
such retarns as the Oregon orchardmeD
got in 1854 55 when thev sold their
q, pies at wholesale for S25 to $40 per
hurdred. they will be badly mistaken
for then there were not even hve hun
>dred bearing trees ON the whole Pacific
coast, But we contend there IS good
remuneration in apples for those who
will plant good varieties of apple trees.
keep their orchards well plOwed. and
pack their fruit properly fo- the mar
ket. The invention for klin-dryIne
fruit for export aud preser\ alton IL the
winter months, known as
THE ALDEN PROCESS,
Has been introduced into Oregon with
great success. Its cost of equipment
for first class machines. is about 5000
and for second class about 81 500 They
can be used for drying peas, rhubarb.
and string bans in June and all other
fruits and vegetables till the fall crop
of apples comes in. After the apples
are exhausted fresh beef can be dried
for the use of vessels at sea, with good
r,rofit, In short, if an association of
farmers having extensive orchards will
club together for the purchase Of one of
these machines. they Can keep 1t en-
ployed at least ten months in the year.
Tras San Lorenzo Company in Califor-
MIA, is the largest of the kind on the
coast and preserves all sorts of fruits
and garden vegetables by this process.
Similar establishments have been fitted
up at Salem. Oregon City, Albany and
Corvallis, in our sister State. all OF
which have Paid at least two, per cent.
per month for such time as they have
been in actual operation; though they
have not such an amount of material
to work upon as factories of tie same
kind have in California. That State
produces some six or eight kinds oi
Vegetables that are totally unknown in
Oregon or here.
IN THE SEATTLE STORES,
As we'll as those at Port Townsend,
Olympia and other Sound towns. you
see Alden fruit. as it is called, offered
for sale. There are apples. peaches