The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-07-05
BOISE IS ADOPTING
HOOD RIVER METHODS

Hood River methods in apple rails.
ing, packing and marketing apples
and other fruit are conceded to be the
best, and are being followed with
profit by other sections. A promi-
nent orchardist at Boise this year
sent for Roy G. Brock, who has
learned the apple business thoroughly
under the direction of Sears d Porter,
to superintend the thinning of his ap-
pies this year. A dispatch from Boise
to the Spokesman Review says:
't'remont Wool has established a
record as a progressive orchardist In
this part of the country. Last season
he induced an expert from Hood Riv.
er to take charge of his place. The
same expert, koV q. Brock, has re
turned to superintend the orchard
during the growing season and again
to attend the packing Nj. Woods
makes no secret OF the methods en-
ployed by him, but it is announced
will be glad to have any orchardist
avail themselves Ul he lessons that
will be taught during the season
among his apple trees. The two feat
ures which will be prominent in car
ing for the orchard are thinning and
simmer pruning. Mr.. Brock has al
ready started crew at thinning. He
employs women for this work, declar-
ing that they are much more careful
than men.
"In thinning of the apples, the aim
will be to leave one on each fruit
spur, and the object to increase the
size of the apples. In the orchard at
Hood River IN which Mr.. Brock Is in.
terested they thin twice. At the sec
ond thinning they aim to get a dist
ance of about six inches between the
apples. The main purpose OF that,
however, Is to keep out the worms.
When two apples come together the
worms will almost certainly get into
them at the point of contact. There
fore they are thinned to such space as
suggested, some of the fruit spurs be-
ing relieved entirely.
"This excessive thinning, Mr..
Brock thinks, is not necessary in the
Wood orchard, as from his observa-
tions last fall, he is satisfied the
worms are not nearly so bad there as
at home.
''He does not think it contributes
to the size of the apple to have one
removed that is on another spur.
However he will thin some trees in
that manner rs an experiment.
1.-THE object of this thinning is to
increase the size of the apples. A
tree that has been carefully thinned
will fill as many, generally more, box
es than it would had all the fruit been
left. The apples ale not only smaller
when the thinning is not done, but
they are irregular in size and are
constantly dropping, owing to their
crowded condition, whereas, when
the tree is thinned, the fruit is much
more uniform in size and does not
drop to any great extent.
The ultimate object of all this
work is TO secure better prices for the
fruit.
First class apples always command
high price. That is especially true
of these western orchards. Any grow
or here who will produce first class
fruit and pack it properly can get
high price for it irrespective of the
size of the crop elsewhere. The large
apples will command perhaps as much
as dollar box more than smallt r
ones or those of irregular size. With
ordinary apples going begging at 81 a
box in heavy crop year, such apples
as can be produced here by careful
work will command as much as
90 IN ~