The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-11-21
r,.re FruiS Abound.
80 RIoomington Pantagranh.

Wesi ! IA .ao number originally 1rol
and qulte nv Last week, in compan
Mclean codm har Of Portland people, Wis
win ~ y Hood River fruit iair and 1i ther ,
itea iti InC nudge Henry, formerly from a, bloom @ N
met Juos s1udge Henry is one OF the mos
ingtOIL,; tic adopted sons that Orego
enthlslsa'Tbe be always has hearty we
has, ana awcomers. nU He is very prou
come . asa lIl town WI in which he lives ant and ha
Of 15iS ln5 ar reasons for SO being, for iron
sRle1uiPP Piyer this year 100 car loads c
hcoe hco.ast m strawberries ever grown wer
the nns'' These were gathered fror
+. silppcs ,a acres and retted the producer
sly9,wUii ly%,owino the great interest the Panta
hhOgte takes in agricultural matters,
graRh ottempt tenn in this letter to tell some
snan ~ the fruit industry OF Oregon
tnlHff b Hnow OF no better way than to de
ane a!ha A the work as carried on at Hoo
sGIloo S.Os Almost everyone in Illinois i
bnGI, bS;I;ar with the facts concerning Sen
all,iiDn iDnunlap's large apple orchard il
oIOl Gp oGIpOan,nsign county, and with the larg
y.ab yl,.swberry fields near Centralia, but i
Maff .afa to say that but few have rea(
asnvtbing definite of these industries il
'lT G'bsre 0s, are many places in Oregon ant
r...orn .v Washington where fruit raising
: nas' nsasarried on extensively, but Hood Riv
'T' oregon, sixty-six miles east of Port
VA " J on tbe Columbia, surpasses then
III IT. Besides being famous fruit dis
~, ~, Il is also a summer resort, and il
.Oming Sar} to the front by leaps and bounds
Tbe @ Climate there is ideal the yeal
,onnd .S the extremes of summer and the
,;rors ,Sr Of winter being unknown. Some
4 the most beautiful scenery in the
SOrld is found near the town and valley
\ '' lie same name. In the foreground
Z tbe majestic Columbia; across the
,iver in Washington, towering above
the @ other nearby peaks, is Mount
N ADAMS, 12,47O feet high, perpetually
sovered with snow; in the opposite di-
action, v twenty-seven miles to the south,
/ snow-crowned Mount Hood, rearing
he head heavenward IL 1,225 feet, form
mo a picturesque background to the
nroductive valley; on the east and west
are the foothills of the Cascades.
ONLY a vague idea of Hood River and
Ifs Surroundings can be obtained from
tbe railroad, as the train passes through,
Or makes short stop at the depot. To
40 tho lannon's fruit producing region
one must leave the train, pass through
tbe prosperous little town and climb the
hiIls in the rear. The sight is worth
travelling many miles to see. Nature
has designed but few such scenes. The
panorama of river and valley, mountain,
feld and forest, together with hundreds
q well-kept fruit farms, is beautiful to
behold. For twenty miles the fertile
tract stretches to the south, with an av-
prage width of five miles, making an
area of 100 square miles or $4,000 acres,
Of which $4,000 acres are tillable. Hav-
ng its source at the base of Mount
HOOD, the stream Of Hood river, ice cold,
winds its way through the valley, fur
nishing water for irrigating purposes the
sntire distance, until it empties into the
just above the town.
The great care taken in picking, pack
ug and shipping the berries, together
With their wonderful preservative quail
ties, has made the fruit famous. The
Dne great word at Hood River is quality,
luality, quality, and such care is taken
hat, if desired, the fruit companies can
ell who picked certain box. This is
lone BY a systematic marking and rec
rd The fruit is shipped far and near
principally far-for Portland people
pmplain of not being able to secure the
aries. There is scarcely town be-
Feen the Pacific and the Missouri river,
Orth of Arkansas and Colorado, that is
Of a consumer of the famous fruit,
hen the supply is obtainable.
From five to twenty acres is the size
the ranches or farms. An average
re of Strawberries yields $50 crates
lch year and the land can be kept in
erries from four to seven consecutive
ears, which at an average income OF
per crate, gives the grower an income
$500 per acre. The cost of picking
nd packing is IS cents crate, or $97 80
n acre. leaving $202.50 for the land and
ost of cultivation. Mulching is not
ecessary, as the ground does not freeze
ard enough to do the plants injury.
IS much as 500 and $500 have been
salized from an acre OF Strawberries,
ut $500 is common. AS stated in the
eginning of this article 100 carloads OF
erries were shipped from Hood River
uring 1902, netting the producers
l25, 900.
Mr.. Davidson, formerly of Canton, ILL.,,
at the head OF the leading fruit COM
any, and it is largely through his ef-
Orts that the standard of the berry is
iept where it is.
The strawberry season proper begins
he last of May and continues until
bout the middle OF July. 1t is then
hat the little town and valley fairly
huns with business and it is time well
spent in visiting the place. Indians
rom the reservation bring their tents
and remain during the season. The
law braves lie around in the shade
while their hard-working squaws, witt
little red-faced and sun-burned papoose'
on their backs, labor in the fields
Scores of white pickers are also EN-
pOyed. Many spend their summer va
cation at Hood River during the berry
season, combining business will
pleasure.
The fruit fair was held in canvas
covered building, 42xll2, erected especI
ally for the occasion, under the spread
ing oaks of the principal street. I
stage, l2x20, was erected at one end o
the pavilion for program purposes
The decorations were beautiful and at
traCtive, consisting of evergreens, au
tumn leaves, fruits, vegetables, grain
and grasses, together with flags an
bunting. Special prizes, ranging Iron
IS to $40, were given for the best trul
display. Governor and Mrs. Geer al
tended the fair and the Governor tol
me he was quite surprised at the show
ing of the valley. The best from some
Thing like sixty farms was there.
measured several of the apples an
the circumference of the largest wa
Just less than seventeen inches. Anon
the varieties were the Yellow Newtow
Rppin, Spitzenberg, Jonathan, Nortl
ern Spy, Wagner, Baldwin, Grayensteil
Bellehower, Swaar, Greening, Winesal
Wolf River, and Ben Davis. The Flol
or Winter Banana new variety-a
tracted much attention. 1t is yelloN