The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-06-18
Happy and PrOsperOus Hood River.

in evidence on the streets, at the railroad
station and at the boat landings. Every
train coming into the city brings people
for Hood River, and the river boats land
hundreds every day. Besides all these,
many more come in wagons and on
horseback white men with their fami-
lies, the Indian with his squaw and
papoose, followed by the ever present
cur the sturdy Jap and the ebony-col-
ored man, the two latter without fami-
lies. The streets are thronged; sidewalks
congested. All kinds and conditions Of
people are to be seen vending their way
to the strawberry fields on the plateau
above the city.
The strawberry season is on, and at its
height. Fields OF this luscious berry
of which God might have made better,
but didn't-are dotted with pickers,
singing their merry songs as they fill
their trays with big, ripe berries, the
like OF which is not seen anywhere else
in the country.
1t is a sight worth travelling far to see
5000 pickers dotting the berry patches
for miles, their picturesque camps and
groups OF happy children, the wigwams
OF the Indians, and the Indian children
playing about the tents; the cayuse pull
ing at his tether near by, with the afore-
mentioned dog lazily sleeping away the
hours in the same cool. shady nook.
Thousands of pickers are seen carrying
berries to the packing houses where they
deposit them and receive a check cover
ing the number of pounds picked, and
quickly return to the patch and and re-
sumo their labor. The packers quickly
grade and fill each hallock, and crate the
berries. 1t is but moment until the
crate is covered and ready to be hauled
to the railroad station for shipment.
A crate contains "a hallocks, l. e., "a
pounds. The shipper loads 600 OF these
crates into refrigerating car, and starts
them on their journey into Washington,
Idaho, Montana, into the Dakotas, into
Colorado and ON into the cities OF the far
East. This is kept up for at least six
weeks, or until every crown has been
stripped of its last berry.
The crop started at So per crate, +. o.
b., Hood River, and as the ripening of
the berry advanced, the price gradually
dropped to SO per crate, where it now
remains. The price rarely goes below
$500.
The first shipment was made on the
l4th of May by the Fruit Growers union,
followed closely by Davidson Fruit COM
pany with other shipments.
The average number of crates grown
to the acre is 125, and the cost to the
grower does not exceed $50 per acre. 1t
will be seen there is profit in growing
strawberries in Hood River valley.
While the average is 125 crates to the
acre, there are plenty of fields that will
turn off $50 to l75 crates per acre.
This will be the banner year for the
berry grower. Aside from an increase
OF acreage over last year, the cool wealth
er has kept the berry from ripening
they have had nothing else to do for the
past two weeks but lay still and grow
until the hot sun should come out and
ripen them. The result of this is that
the berry is very large and OF an excel
lent flavor.
The estimate for this seasons crop is
125 cars, as against 80 cars last year.
One hundred and twenty-five cars and
900 crates to the car means 10000 crates
that will be shipped out OF Hood River
this season. At an average of 81 .25 per
crate, this equals, in round numbers,
$4,000, which will come into the valley
to be distributed among the berry
growers.
Portland gets few Hood River straw
berries. 1t is true that Hood River
berries are offered for sale in that city,
but they are berries grown for the most
part at Mount Tabor and Willamette
valley points While these berries are
of fine quality, it is conceded that they
do not compare with the berry grown
here, and will not stand shipment to
distant points.
Hood River valley is gem, environed
on the south by Mount Hood, by the
lordly Columbia river on the north, and
hemmed in on the east and west by a
chain OF rocky barriers with projecting
buttes to stand as sentinels to guard the
approaches to this favored spot.
The valley is approximately miles
wide and 20 miles long, containing 1000
acres of tillable land, with but one-fourth
in cultivation, mostly devoted to the
culture of apples and strawberries. The
soil is OF volcanic origin, and is strongly
impregnated with silica, oxides, phos-
pilates and nitrate, elements so neces-
sary to the growth of fruits and berries.
While the berries require irrigation,
apples do not need this artificial stimu.
liant. Apples and cherries are success.
fully grown on the hillsides, getting
moisture from the hills in the form Of
sub-irrigation, the hills being filled with
water. Berries grown in the upper val
ley are two weeks later than those raised
on the plateau lower down, and are
tirmer in quality, have a deeper color
and will stand shipping better than their
neighbors further down Another thing
these berries come into market after
all other berries are out of the market,
and once more command the high
prices.
1t will be asked what these lands are
worth, or rather, what is asked for them,
The answer is they are worth $1,000 per
acre. Land devoted to strawberry cul-
ture pays 10 per cent on this valuation.
Apple land does still better The selling
price is from 500 for unimproved tracts,
to $500 per acre for we'll cultivated and
improved places. In some instances
S400 is received for small tracts near the
city, Irrigating bitches thread the val
ley, supplying water. The growers fume
from the main bitches to their berry
patches, 1t takes five inches of water to
the acre, and this costs S. for the season,
or to put it differently, tho water costs
the grower S. an inch for each season s
run. The system of irrigation has not
been as thorough in the past as is de-
sired, but from present indications this
will be bettered by another season.
There has recently come into the valley
some gentlemen from Idaho, men who,
it is claimed have practical knowledge
of irrigation. These parties propose,
and am advised that work has already
been begun, to bring into the valley
$4,000 inches of water, covering both
sides of the valley, that is the east and
west sides of Hood river. When this is
done the water problem will be solved
Tor at least some years to come.
The future of Hood River valley is so
hright that ppa hasitafas tn ,,ral;ct "a, a