The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-05-12
HOOD RIVER.

There are literally thousands of acres
in the Hood River valley admirably
adapted to black berry culture where
man can make good living off a very
small piece of ground. f. r. Austen
has blackberry patch consisting of
three-eighths of an acre on a bench of
land several hundred feet above the
Columbia river. From this patch. in
the year 1889, he sold 300 lbs of black
berries at an average price of six cents a
pound, thus realizing the neat sum of
$25S, or at the rate of $6SS an acre. 1t
may be interesting to our readers to
know something as to the prices asked
for such lands as we have described.
The case of Mr.. Austen will serve per-
haps az well rs any other. This gentle
man has l6S acres of timber land, with
about nine acres cleared. These nine
acres are highly improved. There are
400 trees of the usual varieties, all Wig
orous, healthy and bearing. There is
the blackberry patch already referred to,
now extended to one acre, and 10000
strawberry plants and two hundred
grapes. He has a complete irrigating
system of his own, and can throw water
almost anywhere on the whole 100 acres.
Every kind of the harder vegetables
grow with him to perfection. The clover
among his apple trees supplies forage for
his cow and team. There is a fair box
dwelling and good frame barn. 1t is
an ideal home for man of quiet tastes,
and the whole is offered for 50 200.
PRICE OF LAND.
In general way it may be said that
land sells all the way from $50 to $50 an
acre and even higher. A fine farm of
so acres nearly all cleared with fairly
good house and barn sold a few days ago
for 300. Every acre of it is adapted to
fruit growing. and it is only about three
ley land can be had cheaper that is Just
as good or better than that lying nearer
the Columbia
CORN AND GRAIN. Il
We have spoken of Hood River as a
fruit country and so it is. 1t has thous-
ands of acres which if they were only in
California, instead of being held at $50
to $50 an acre could not be bought for
three times these terms. But Hood
River can do more than raise fruit At
our district fair last year somebody ex-
hibited a watermelon that beat the larg-
est at the fair by fifteen pounds. Most
OF the farmers raise corn on their sum-
mer fallowed land and with good sue
cess, although of course it is not claimed
to he corn country. But the wheat
grown there, as far as quality is con-
cerned, will bear favorable comparison
with that grown anywhere. 1t is nearly
all fall sown and produces from %
bushels to the acre up. We were much
struck with the remark of one of the
Hood River farmers when reference was
made to the many people who prefer
working out in order to maintain them
selves when they ought to make their
farms do so. He said 81 make my place
support me and dom work hard, either.
l raise fruit and corn and grain 1 plant
the corn thick, cure it and feed it to nv
cows with chopped grain in the winter.
AS consequence | have butter to sell
all the year round, and for dairy COWS /
prefer corn fodder, as L raise and cure it,
to the best clover hay 4
A little patch of ground mot bigger
than barn site'' last year produced for
Peter Mohr nearly three tons of carrots,
and this without drop of irrigation and
IN season four months of which were
without a drop of rain.
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