The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-09-27
GOOD TIDINGS
TRAVELLED FAR
LOOMS MESSAGE FROM NEW YORK
Tells About His Trip to Hood River
and of Fine Apples and Scientific
Methods of Growing Them.

Methods OF GrOWiRg Them.
Il =. Loomis, who returned to New
ork recently, after having been at
Hood River and other places where
apples are grown, in the interest of
the firm of +. p. Loomis & Co., with
whom he is connected in an interview
in the Fruit Trade journal and Pro
duce Record, says some very nice
things about Hood River and its mp
| pies. Tho interview is as follows:
rho crop of fancy Spitzenborgs and
| Newtuwns generally through Washing
ton and Oregon, will be not larger
than it was last year There is cen
siderable crop of Ben Davis the bulk
of which will he sold on western mar
kets, and some contracts have already
been made for shipments to go to
China and Japan. They will probably
be bought around 40 cents box.
There are certian sections in beth
Oregon and Washington where The
heat has been very intense, all the
way from l05 to lOS degrees Fair. In
these sections also there has been
| shortge of water. These conditions
| will make tho stock from those Sec
tions of very short keeping quality,
and il anything, understood. There
are occasionlly in Oregon and Wash
ngton some particularly favored val
leys, watered by mountain streams,
where the fruit has developed wonder
fully and the pack out of such valleys
will be more fancy than ever. or
these most favored localities, the
Hood River valley has enjoyed the
most favorable conditions. Situated
on the slopes of Mount Hood, and
Natered by the constant ST. earns that
dow from that perpetually snow GOV.
cred mountain, the orchards of tie
Hood River valley have all the water
they need and also enjoy the care al
cultivation of the most expert apple
growers ii has ever been my pleasC,e
to meet,
There you have $50 to 200 growers
who are among the most intelligent,
we'll posted, hardest working growers
Of appleq in this country today. They
have made study of the culture Of
apples for the last fifteen to twenty
years, and the little valley of Hold
River today, without doubt, grows
the fanciest apples that are grown in
the world. The life of their apples,
on account of the fine climate, perfect
cultivation, thinning, spraying and
pruning, is longer than he same va
rieties from any other sections by
three to four months, and on account
of their perfect quality, large size and
color, the Hood River apples will al
ways stand on their own merits and
he bought at prices dependent on the
quantity and quality of their crop
and other similar crops in Oregon
and Washington, ,srathel than on the
size of the apple crop generally
through the United States.
The Hood River Apple Growers
union, which today controls 80 per
cent OF the entire output of tho valley,
is one of the strongest and ablest
bodies of men that we have ever done
business with. Their board of direc-
tors are authorities on the growing,
packing and shipping of fruit, and
are rs fair minded, straight business
man as one would ever wish to meet.
They realize that the reputation they
enjoy all over this country and also
England for the highest quality Of
SpitZenbergs and Newtowns has been
obtained, first, by the care and ener
w on the paIt of their members in
the cultivation Of their orchrds and
in the growing OF perfect fruit; and,
second, and what is just as import
ant--by the perfect grading and pack
ing of their fruit. They have done
away with packing by the individual
growers, and all apples marketed by
the union mu 1t be packed by the un-
ions packers according to rigid
rules, the grading being made as to
size and color and freedom from
worms and other blemishes. They
have such complete system of pick
ing, packing, grading and shipping
that a box of their fruit, on which il
their label and the contents Of which
is wrapped in their printed wrappers,
is "A PRACTICAL guaranty to contain
perfect fruit from top to bottom Of
the box.
The value of the union to the grow
err of Hood River cannot be eXagger-
ated. without the union the packing
of each different orchard would differ
as their owners differ. Competition
between them would set in, and as no
grower likes to sell his fruit for less
than his neighbor gets, buyer. would
have to have the price of the whole
governed by the value of the poorest
| OF chaId and grade and pack From
my own stand point as buyer, | be
lleve that could buy cheaper If each
individual grower had the selling OF
| his own crop. When, however, ap-
preCiate the value of having one pei
feet pack, such as only urion man
aged properly could put out, believe
| that the higher price which the union
is able to get by their combination,
| is more than off set by the extra qual
ity. CeatIinly too mucbo redlt can
not be given to the union for their
| influence in encouraging the perfect
growing Spitzenbergs and NewtoWns.
The indirect influence Of the unions
work is seen in the very high prices
of real estate and orchard land
throughout the Hood River valley,
many orchards being worth today
fromS 600 to 81, 500 an acre.
Both the board of directors of the
Hood River Apple Growers union
and the mem bers appreciate thor
oughly that they must maintain the
high standard of packing; that their
| boxes must be true to count and be
tight packed, and that the color ana
buality generally must be superior to
any other apple section in order to
maintain the high prices (which they
are enjoying. o..
On account of the high reputation
of the quality of the apples shipped
by the Hood River Apple Growers
union, there has been some attemLt
in the past to Iput on boxes Of apples
grown in other sections of Oregon
| label which is intended to suggett
that the apples we're grown in the
! Hood River valley.
The varieties grown by the union
are Spitzenbergs, Arkansas Blacks,
Newtowns, Red Cheeks and Ortleys'