Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1899-05-24
OREGON CROP REPORT.
Review Of Crop Outlook in Ore
gOn.
A Poor Showing for Fruit but Fall
Grain Is Looking Fine--Stock Busi-
ness Improving.
gOn


Grain Is Looking Fine--Stock Busi-
ness Improving.
The long cold wet spring seems 10
hang on with unusual tenacity and
farmers who have put off sowing spring
grain on account Of the wet condition Of
the soil may never get crop in the
ground. The weather for the past week
is reported az follows: Mean tempera-
ture for the week, 81 degree. Maxi
mum temperatures ranged from 81 de-
grees 10 20 degrees and the minimum
from 40 degree TO 50 degrees Rain fell
from Monday 10 Friday, about one-half
inch. .Frostsoccurred on the 18th and 10Th.
The soil il yet quite cold andmuch very
late spring grain will be the result
and the crop will certainly be
short one at best. It will be June be-
fore seeding can be finished II warmer
weather should occur soon grain will
hum right along.
Fruit is dropping quite badly this
season which is accounted for by fruit
men in this way:
The cause Of the dropping is evidently
due 10 the cold soil and absence Of heat
TO force the sap up the tree; the small
fruit is therefore literally starved to
death, and il then drops TO the ground.
All in all the fruit crop will be quite
small. Gooseberries are now being
marketed and strawberries are slow TO
ripen. The grape crop is more or less
injured but there will be some. The hay
crop will be good in most localities.
Oats are now bring a better figure
than for some time.
In Washington the the fruit crop is
even in worse condition than here.
State Horticultural Commissioner,
Baker, reports that in Eastern Wash
ington, the fruit crop in worse condition
than generally believd In the Palouse
district there is not bud on the trees.
Walla Walla Is worst OF all. Peaches
and plums are seriously affected, and
only in the most favorable situation will
there De any crop at all.
Reports from all over the Yakima
valley agree that the strawberry plants
are badly frozen out, and in many places
they are almost entirely killed.
The indications are that the peach
crop Of Oregon, outside of Rogue river
valley, will be light. Horticultural Com
missioner Casey, Of the third district
advises growers TO be on the lookout for
the peach scab.
Valentine Loewis, Circular says Of the
conditions in New York hop crop by ex
tended correspondence with interior hoI
growers would seem to indicate that th,
yards in this state are not in as good con
dition ~ at this time last year. Som,
yards look we'll others are badly winte
killed.
In most sections stock in ingood con
dition and work horses are be
coming in good demand in Eastern Ore
gon and are not now q drug on the
market, as buyers are continually
around looking after horses, and som'
draft animals in Umatilla county hav,
been sold for close onto 5000 piece
Some inquiry by Eastern buyers is mad,
for Eastern Oregon horses One Nortl
Dakota man IL figuring ON shipping sew
eral thousand head from Umatillr
county at S25 II head. Large size horses
that have been we'll broken sell for 800
per span in Morrow county.
A correspondent from Tangent writes
Farmers are still busy trying to get in
their spring crop, but have 80 far made
very slow progress, as there are hun
dreds OF acres OF ground which was in
tended TO have been plowed and sowed
which has not yet been in the proper
condition for cultivation,
think the acreage of spring grain will
not be as large as intendedon account OF
the lateness OF the season rs the time
for sowing has almost passed.
Gardening has also been delayed by
wet weather and so far but little has
been done in that line OF work, and what
has been planted has made slow growth
and looks pale and sickly.
Fall grain looks well and is growing
quite fast, but the continued cold wet
weather has caused il 10 turn yellow
and sprinkle mp without spreading as
much as il usually does.
There will be almost failure Of
prunes, plums and pears and very few
cherries as the blossoms fell off the fruit
also disappeared. Apples viii likely be
a fairly good crop especially late yarie-
ties.
The cold weather of the past winter
not only injured fruit trees, rosebushes
and many other kinds OF shrubbery, but
il has killed many balm trees which are
two ar three feet in diameter.