The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-02-09

| OIO Ia lIld ti'l dhSS III thiO dlICCIloI
in recent years. Perhaps few
thoughts from the standpoint of {
practical fruit grower and one
among the first to engage in the
business of prune growing, espec
tally, would not be unappreciated
by your readers.
i "Twelve years ago, on setting
an orchard for family use, | was
induced by glowing reports Of
profits derived from the cultiva
ton of the prune, to add one acre
of Petite prunes TO my orchard
These | cultivated with great
deal of care and attention and felt
well repaid for my extra labor by
the thriftiness of my trees, and
the quantity of fruit when they
were old enough to bear, which
was at the age Of five years. The
product of these | dried in, the
sun, pursuing the same method
that they do in California; that is,
dipping the prunes first in concen-
trated lye and then spreading out
to dry. Had very fair success, but
soon found out that the sun could
not always be depended ON as a
successful evaporator in Oregon.
The success attending this first
venture and the necessity of'hav-
ing frnit enough to erect a dryer
induced me to plant more trees,
and six years ago set out six
teen hundred and twenty prune
trees, which at that time in our
country was considered a very
wild and foolish venture, in fact,
my sanity was seriously doubted;
but now we have in the near vi
cinity' several hundred acres of
prune trees, put out by companies
and by individuals who are con-
sidered very sensible persons in
other RESPECTS. My orchard differs
in some respects from tho e now
planted from the fact that l did
not know the best varieties to cul-
tivate, and hence have one or two
varieties which should not have a
place in an orchard, but you will
make no mistake in setting out
either Italian, Petite or French
prunes. The Italian has the lead
in Oregon, but in California the
French is the leading variety. |
have both kiuds and consider one
variety equally as profitable as the
other. While the French prune
makes a harder tree and is a
much more prolific bearer on any
soil, the Italian has several strong
points in his favor; its fruit brings
a better price in the markets, ow-
ing to its size, and its faculty of
shedding its surplus fruit should
not be despised, seldom on this ac-
count injurlng itself by overload
ing.
"The cost OF cuItivating an Or
chard of this size need not be
very great if the owner. is will
ing at the same time to be the
cultivator.
''The heaviest expense at that
time was in getting trees; these
cost seventeen cents apiece or
about eighteen dollars an acre;
now trees as good or better can be
had for four cents apiece, thus
greatly reducing first cost, which,
with the assistance end. experience
of those who were first to engage
in the business, will, be a great
leverage to success.
''That we have soil and climate
peculiarly adapted to produce this
fruit in its excellence has been
abundantly proven by fruit ship
ments to the east last season, where
it came in direct competition with
a like product of other lands,
hence We have nothing TO discour-
age us on this account, but should
rather look to an enlarged acreage
as the means of bringing a better
market and making our fruit, by
its quantity as well as quality, tell
in the markets of the world. This,
IN my opinion, only requires a
little push, a little of the energy
practiced by the Californians in
advertising the excellence of every
thing they produce, and our fruit
interests will be success.
"The difficulty confronting the
fruit grower, after his trees begin
to bear, is an evaporation. On this
account thousands of bushels of
prunes were allowed to 60 to waste
the past season. But inventive
genius is at work, and / have no
doubt that another season will
witness much better results than
the last.
IL saw many different kinds oi
! dryers, models, ETC., at the meet.
ing in Portland---some that had
f been used the past season with