The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-01-04

1t is not too much to place the pro-
duct at value of $4,000 when cured. !
The owner has cherries, pears, plums
and peaches-4OOO trees in all-that |
he depends on to furnish green fruit
to ship abroad to raise money to
carry on the operations, and expects
to make $4,000 pounds of cured
prunes to pack. He estimates that In
time, when his orchard is all in good
bearing, this green fruit will meet
all the current expenses, and that he
will have 100000 pounds of choice
cured prunes remaining for his profit
worth from $4,000 to $1,000 per
annum. The results Of recent years
justify this calculation.
THE FRUIT GROWING INTEREST
From an address before the Marion
County Horticultural Society, by
President II. W. Cottle.
The Willamette valley is destined
to become the center CT the great
fruit growing district Of the Pacific
Northwest. The magnitude which
the fruit industry is assuming is SIM
ply astonishing to anyone who will
| take the trouble tc investigate. 1t
| will be but a short time until thou
sands and thousands of wagon loads
of fruit will be delivered yearly to
the markets of Salem, where, in the
past it has been so insignificant as to
| be hardly worthy of mention. Fruit
| growing is the foundation of the
future prosperity of this valley.
In Santa Clara county, California,
| there are, as shown by the assessment
rolls, over 14c0 fruit farms of 10
acres or less. There are abou6 as
many more of from 10 to 40 acres
Upon each of these farms there are
employed more men than are today
employed by the average wheat
grower of this county upon his 160
acre farm. A few years ago, that was
a wheat growing district, where lane
was cheap and the farmers We're poor
Today, it is one of the richest an(
most prosperous districts located
upon the Pacific coast. Fruit-grow
ing has been the cause of this grea
change. An equal amount Of i'm
provement is to be seen there in thei
homes. The plain, commonplace sor
of house has given way to beauti
t full and even elegant dwelling, sur
rounded by spacious lawns and beau
, tiful flowers.
: The fruits grown there which ar
considered the most profitable are tn
prune and the cherry. The cherrie
of this valley are, as you know, SCI
, 0nd to none; while the prunes, bot
the Italian and Petite, are superio
5 to those grown in the state of Cal
, fornia. This has been prov en- whel
ever our prunes nave been well curee
properly sorted. and put into compe
tition with the California prune. Th
, reports of the agricultural depart
ment of this government show tha
the largest and best-favored p1h1I
grown in the United States is grow
. in the states of Oregon and Washing
ton. The prune is a plum. Wha
fruit-growing has done for SAINT
Clara county, California, it will
: for Marion county, Oregon. Chan.
y ing country from grain-growing I
frult-growing, means that from tie
to twenty times the number of en-
ployes are furnished employment
:, This means good times where time
: were hard before.
"But" says one, "thiS means owe
: production and ruin to the grower
. You always find men in every con
: munity ready to prophesy troubl
u disaster and ruin. AS a gentlema
;; said lately, everyone must have a
occupation, and it does not take muc
money or brains to become a grun
- bier. 1t is an easy business to g,
into.
= Some ten years ago, the amount (
fruit and vegetables shipped from tt
a a Southern states was so insignifical
- - as to be deemed unworthy of a plat
. in the census. We find that ovt
=, | 2l0 000 loads
nually to the Northern states. III
/: growers of these fruits and vegetable
II have not met with disaster, and tt
! market still keeps good, and wit
y this immense amount shipped al
,. nually, there has been no over-pr,
l duction. A prominent California
y told me last fall that he had bee
growing prunes for sixteen year
that he had heard talk of overpr
duction all that time, but that IL
y business had been more profitable
him as the years rolled by, and be
i i ter methods of cultivation, prrlnin
and grading prevailed. His prunt
. last year brought him over $500 Dt
e acre.
Apples have been shipped from tn
5 state for several years across tt
ocean to England. 1t seems to n
t that the planting of the proper kline
u of apples has not been carried to tt
= extent that other fruits have bee
u planted, and to the extent that
justified by reason of its keeping an
:, shipping qualities.
Grape-groWing is in it's infanc
here, but it is commencing to loo
4 up. Smaller fruits have proved n
Il munerative where intelligent an
thorough care has been given then
Il Raspberries and blackberries shoul
Il be planted more extensively and prt
$ fitably. There are fruits that hav
}. been considered too tender for th
> climate, that by proper trial ma
: prove to be well adapted to cultiv:
ton in this valley.
7 There is still room in Oregon fc
: thousands Of intelligent fruit grow
:. ers, such as will plant the right thin
: in the right place, take proper car
| OF the trees when growing, prun
properly, aud when bearing thin prof.
|. erly, pick at the right stage of ripe
ness and pack nicely in clean boXe:
: fight all damaging insects and fune
Z with the best implements and insect
{ icides to be had, and otherwise usin
all the intelligence they have in thei
: business. I believe eternal vigilanc
: is the price of good fruit in this O
any other country, and for that res
: son think there will always be a goo
price for good fruit. Concert of &C
!. ton and union of purpose anon