Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-05-20
FRUIT GROWERS.
A Review Of The Prospects And
What is Necessary.
HoRTIcuGTERAL FAcrs.

"bnh 70 htbNoooA J.
HORTICULTURAL FACTS.
A Drive on the "Garden Road,
and visit to the various "truck
farms" within three miles of this
office, will afford considerable in
struction to person who is inclined
towards horticultural studies. After
passing the railroads about half "a
mile, the prairie has a higher roll
and the soil is evidently better for
all purposes, with only the disadvau-
tage Of liability to frost. All this
spring no frost has troubled vege-
tation on the hills bordering the
Willamette, south Of Salem, out frost.
though not seeming TO be at all
severe on the the prairie, has left its
marks on vegetation nipping the
young heads of raspberry plan &
other tender vegetation, without
doing much harm. On the /. N.
Gilbert place now owned by Mr.
John G. Wright, there is an apple
orchard probably forty years old,
that began to yield about 1855
when three years old, 100 trees as
Mr.. Gilbert then said gave him that
year d return of 5000, That was a
time when the earth was very
prolific and apples sold for S12 to
SIS bushel. The same trees boIe
an enormous crop of fruit last year,
but the other day they stood bare and
fruitess, when all surrounding vege-
tation was luxuriant and prolific.
This is supposed to be caused by
frost that scalded the young growth
Just as it was putting forth. They
will, no doubt, put out another
growth, of which there is signs
already, Such old trees being affec-
ted, this is something Hnheard Of in
Oregon. On the truck farm of Mr..
Savage, djoining this orchard, which
covers some ninety acres, one inte-
rested can find much to learn. He
has now five men at work and does
the work of two ordinary men him
self. He is euterprising & manages
| TO secure the best new varieties and
keep up with the times. He says the
horticultural literature sent him from
the East show how different the
conditions are on the Pacific. The
scotsman. J. H. Gregory, of Marble
head, Mass, for instance says to
grow good onions plow up sod land
and plant on it. That is the way to
too, as far west as in Nebraska, but
Mr.. Savage says it don't work well
here, and he finds it best TO plant
onions on the oldest land he has.
Mr.. Savage has some fine three
year-Old Italian prunes growing in
his berry patch, and the conundrum
he propounds to visitors is: Why
do the three rows on the west show
trees twice as large as the three rows
on the east? All were planted on
similar land and have had the same
care and cultivation, but the differ.
ence in growth is very marked. The
puzzle seemed unanswerable until
we noticed that the larger trees were
planted among gooseberries, while
the smaller ones grew among rasp
berry vines. Mr.. Savage said this
could be the sole reason for the diff
ference; that the raspberry starved
the prune trees by absorbing the
constituents of soil needed for the
prunes, while the gooseberries die
not. After having followed garden
ing and horticulture for many years
Mr.. Savage finds that "every day
brings something new" to be learned
by tree worker.
The necessity of pruning frui
trees and when to do it, is shown bN
the experience of Il Salem gentle
man who has a number of pear trees
that bore last year and blo@meC
heavily this. They had made very
heavy growth and carried entirely
too much wood, as he knew from
experience. Part of them he pruneC
while they were in early bloom, cut
: ting Off fully half the wood of tn,
trees. Being busily occupied other
wise he neglected pruning the rest
intending to do it soon, but wher
he tried it the other day, he found
no bloom set to pears and will gel
no fruit, while those pruned early
are we'll loaded. 1t is impossible fol
trees having too much top, or bearing
too much fruit, to thrive. They
should be cut back well and the
fruit trained to what can be large
and fine fruit.