Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-08-25
HOP PICKING TO
BEGIN NEXT WEEK
A Jolly Time for the Army OF
Pickers-Crop Will Be 20
Per Cent Short

Flop picking in the yards of South
ern Oregon will begin the middle Ct
next week. The work will last about
two weeks, though all yards will not
be picked before the close of three
weeks. Hop picking has become an
outing to many of the residents of
the towns of this section, as well as
an opportunity to earn a Roodly sum
Of money at light, healthful work.
The dry weather and the warm,
pleasant nights making camping very
delightful and life in a hop camp is
more Of a picnic than many suppose
At many Of the yards dances, extern.
pore concerts and other aDusements
make the evening gav with merri-
ment. The yards will this year en-.
ploy some 1900 pickers. large pro-
portion Of whom will be- women and
Children.
This small army OF pickers will
come mostly from the towns of Rogue
River Valley, though many country
people take advantage of the oppor-
tunity to earn some extra money
The former method of paying for
picking by the box has been discarded
in Southern Oregon and the pckers
will be paid by the pound, the rate
for this season being a dollar 100
pounds. At this price fast picker
can earn from $3.50 to 81. 90 day,
though some pickers go below sl50
day and few earn more than $2. 90
"A day.
The hop yield will be short in many
of the yards of Rogue River VALLEY,
some having shortage of fully 40
per cent A few yards will have
big crop, but the entire yield of
Southern Oregon will be fully 20 per
cent below an average Some of the
new yards that were thoroughly cul-
tiyated aud irrigat d will yield from
200 to 800 pounds per acre. But most
of the new yards will not bear hops
enough to pay for picking. The old
yards that we're irrigated aud given
good care will most of them bear
well So lagely has irrigation in.
creased TIE yield Of hops that within
the next year or two every yard IN |
Southern Oregon will be put under
irrigation. OF the yards now under
irrigation but few get water by |
ditches and gravity systems, the |
greater number of growers having |
gasoline pumping plants to raise
water from Rogue river or Applegate
along which streams all the yards are
located. While this is AN expensive
wayof irrigating yet the greater yield
Of hops more than repays the cost
While there were nearly 200 acres
lf hops planted last spring yet there is
not likely to be many new yards
planted next spring, for hop growers
are somewhat discouraged over the
downward tendency OF the market,
which has been effected by the dealers
combine An effort was made to form
! pool of the Pacific States hop
growers bat it failed as result of
.he dietrust that farmers have of ea1h
ither, and also through the efforts of
lac dealers IN discouraRing the un-
iertaking. Al effort was made by
'ome OF the progressive hop men of
his section to form Southern ore.
ION union but it failed, as did the
'horts in most of the hop districts of
he Coast The growers about Wood
lurn have more of the progressive
clement and they nave formed
trong union, with John Kennedy as
PRESIDENT aud Captain George Pope,
ecretafy. A bureau Of information
will b. established to correspond with
~ important hop centers ami report :
ach Saturday. II was also agreed
Ipon 10 make each Saturday re- !ular g
market day during the So, son. The
ssociation viii look carefully after :
le Interests of the growers, but will
OF take the idcn of a pool" into .
For this segson il
.as decided to pay SLOO 100 pounds o
'r packing
School Opens September lIrh.
The city schools of Grants Pass l
i'll open Mo.day, september nth,
'r tine coming session Pupils com. -
lg trom other schools who were not
attendance at Grants Pass last scs
on, are requested to report at the =,
.pouutnuduut office in the Central
Illdmg oN Thursday Afternoon.
'ptomhyr Eth or ON Friday morning,
'ptrmbcr Nth, that they may be- OK. :
uind aud assigned to proper
aides This also applies to any
lpils of last year who have been re.
living special instruction during
Dcatlon, with view to making up
mc work ia which there was a de-.
cheney last session. /
The office will ho open ON Thursday