The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-05-17

for shipment. But the apple crop ia
the upper valley is as satisfactory as
the strawberry crop iD che lower val.
ley. AT the District Fairs, the Me.
chanic's Fair, the Coium bian Exposi-
tion, and we expect the same at the
Omaha Exposition, the fruit of Wasco
county-aood River apples in particu-
lar-have taken the highest awards.
Their size, splendid coloring, rich
flavor, freedom from the fruit moth,
and unsurpassed keeping and shipping
qualities, cannot be excelled in any
other known localiay of the civilized
world. In June, 1894, as an expert
ment, Mr.. Schanno sent few boxes of
yellow Newtown pippins to London
via. Cape Horn. After their eight
months storage before shipping, and
their five months en- route, they ar
rived in good condition.
The sandy soil along the Colum bia
requires fertilizers and irrigation, but
are somewhat earlier with their crops.
One of the most notable of the orchards
of this class of soil is that owned by
the Seufert Bros, two miles east of
The Dalles. l. consists of cherries.
prunes, pears and peaches. and con-
tains about 40 acres Ten years ago it
was a tract of drifting sand dunes, but
for six years it has been bearing
abundantly, and yielding handsome
returns. The cherries are particularly
fine, the peaches will equal in size any
thing California ever produced, aud in
flavor rival those of New Jersey and
Delaware.
A bout 5000 acres are now planted in
orchards. Each year Increases the
acreage planted at least five per cent
Fruit trees in this county bear from 3
to years after planting. The farmer,
however, does not wait until his trees
are bearing to realize returns from his
labor. The land between trees may be
planted to small fruits or vegetables
until the trees are large enough to
shade the ground. With the excep-
tion of the peach, the trees are natur-
ally long lived; old apple trees at Geo.
Snipes' lower place bearing as large
crop last year as they ever had done
before. The same is true of the other
o!d orchards, when well cared for
There are diseases and insects that
affect the fruit of this locality, care
lessly brought here in imported fruits
and nursery stock of former years. To
eradicate San Jose scale, the trees are
treated to hot spray cf sulphate of
lime before the buds begin to swell in
the winter and when the petals fall,
the pear and apple trees are sprayed
with London purple or Paris green for
codl;n-moth. 1t is the freedom from
these pests that renders the highest
elevations more successful in raising
apples.
The shipping season is an active
one. From dawn to dark the fruit
raisers with their pickers and packers
are busily engaged picking, packing
du0 UuO vi UOuS III
different varieties of fruit to the de-
pots. 1t has been proven that the
women make the most successful pack
ers: their nimble fingers filling the
crates faster and neater than the men.
Pickers receive Is cents and board
per day; packers 3 cents crate and
board them selves. This is for large
fruits.) During the fruit season of last
year some IS persons were employed
in Am berdale alone. The material
used for the crates and boxes is spruce,
therefore shipped in, but they are
made up in the vicinity using them,
thus giving employment to not a few.
Bartlett pears have not proved to be
a success in shipping. They ripen as
the California crop is closing and the
eastern markets are full. No finer
fruit for canning is raised than the
Bartlett pear, and to meet this emer-
gency as we'll as to dispose of the many
tons of other fruits, just right to can,
but too ripe to ship, the fruit raisers
of Wasco county are in sore need of
two canneries: one at Hood River. to