The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-05-14
STRAWBERRIES ARE RIPE.
First of the Season. Gathered
May o--Crop Prospects Con-
tinue Good-Heavy Frosts in
Missouri-PiCkers Wanted.


Here and there handful OF ripe berries
have been gathered and proudly dis
played by the owner as the first OF the
season. If the weather keeps warm
daily shipments are expected from the
north side of the Columbia by the first
OF the week. Ten days more and heavy
shipments will begin from the Hood
River side, and the heavy rush will be
on. Car load shipments are expected
by June l.
Prospects for a big yield and good
prices continue to hold up, and tie
berry patches are in much the best con-
dition seen in years. The plantations
have been fertilized and better cultivated
and the plants never did look so vigor-
GUS and promising. The weather, too,
is very favorable to Strawberries. Warm
enough to make the plants grow nicely,
yet cool enough to keep the the berries
from maturing too rapidly and produc-
Ing Sludll DCIIlCs' hdihb nave uCOH lew
and the ground is quite dry, but irrigat-
ing water has been turned in early, and
the growers are using it judiciously.
Orders for crate shipments to carload
consignments are received daily by the
Fruit Growers Union and the Davidson
Fruit company. Orders never came in
SO fast SO early in the season, and the
shippers do not fear any trouble in NOV
ing the crop in good shape. These or
ders have been booked at prices ranging
from $6 to So a crate.
Report comes from Missouri that
heavy frosts on The nights of April 80,
and May l, did a great deal Of damage
to fruit of all kinds, especially strawber-
ries. Reliable authorities have esti-
mated this loss at fully half the crop.
"If the freeze in Missouri is as severe
as reported" said 6. j. Gessling of the
fruit union, "the market outlook for
Hood River is the best at this stage of
the season it has been for several years.
AS reported, the crop has been practi-
cally eliminated for commercial pur-
poses, and it looks very much as If we
would have the market to ourselves,
especially Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.
Kansas City, too, and in fact all the ter
ritory west of the Mississippi will be
ours. OF course the damage may not be
SO great as reported"
II. F. Davidson of the Davidson Fruit
company is of the opinion that it might
be only the early Missouri berries which
are killed. and that ii the plants are
uninjured the later crop will come about
the time our crop is heaviest.
The California crop is moving lively
and on May 5. 1400 crates left Florin.
FIRST RIPE BERRIES.
The first ripe Strawberries 10 reach
the Glacier office were sent in Saturday
afternoon, May 8, by c. D. Moore of the
Leader ranch, White Salmon. Monday
morning W. E. Wheeler, living on the
Ramsey place, beneath the Underwood
bluffs, brought in quarter OF box oI
fine berries. He names De Boe and Soren.
sen, his neighbors, as witnesses that he
picked ripe berries, Thursday, May 5.
So much for the north side OF
the Columbia. Tuesday afternoon,
u. w. Mcintosh gathered sample OF
first berries from his ranch miles south
of town. Wednesday morning, D. N.
Byerlee, OF the Oakdale ranch, Frank
ton, furnished the Glacier with ripe
straw berries and shortly afterward, N.
G. Evans announced that his wife had
gathered ripe berries from the Coon
farm. Last year the first berries came
to the Glacier Office the same date as
this year, May 9, They were grown by
G. E. Bowerman on the G. A. Shurte
place, White Salmon.
wANTED-3,000 BERRY PIcKERs.
1t has been estimated by the Hood
River shipping agencies that it will re-
quire 5000 pickers to gather this years
crop of strawberries. ''They won't be
needed before May 20 or %" said II. F.
Davidson. of the Davidson Fruit COM
pany, "but from that date on to June
pickers will be in demand The season
will last from six to eight weeks and
good pickers can make from 81 to $3.50
day at cent and half a box" 1t
will not be necessary for pickers to come
before the date set by Mr.. Davidson, as
there will be little to do, and with no
work they would soon begin to drift
back home. Packers will be paid half
cent a box or $l00 a day. People
desiring to come to Hood River to pick
berries should write to the Davidson
Fruit company, or to G. j. Gessling,
secretary of the Hood River Fruit Grow.
ers' union.
STRAWBERRY NOTES.
Have you provided a place for your
berry pickers?
Seattle received the first shipment
California berries ApriL22. The berries
sold readily at SOC pound.
The first Oregon strawberries reached
Portland Monday, from the Rogue river
country. There were three crates in
the shipment.
Fruit shippers are having lots of cor
respondence with prospective berry
pickers and the question always askel
is "Can we get shelter to camp in?"
Milton, it is reported, will market 25,-
600 crates of strawberries this year,
The bulk Of Milton berries will proba-
bly, supply Eastern Oregon markets.
The Davidson Fruit company is send
ing out 500 posters asking for berry pick
ers to correspond with them. This move
should bring lot of pickers to the valley
Mosier got one on White Salmon and
made the first shipment of strawberries.
JEFF Mosier sent the Davidson fruit COM
pany quarter-pound by mail, Wednes-
day afternoon.
The buzz of saws is heard daily at the
Davidson Fruit company's box factory,
and trucks and drays are kept busy