The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-11-01
VALLEY Is wRONGED.
Willamette Apples 60 East Under
Heed River Brand.

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Salem, o., Oct. 28.-That William.
ette valley apples are not being sold
under a Willamette valley brand is
one OF the handicaps under which val
ley orchardists are now laboIing. Be-
cause there are no packers In this
part OF the state making a specially
OF apples, the bulk of that fruit grown
here will go east merely as Oregon
apples, branded as packed by a
Hood River firm, thus for all practi-
cal purposes making them an adver
tisement for Hood River. So far as
the commercial world can learn, the
Willamette valley produces no apples
for shipping. 1t is an unfortunate
condition keenly felt by valley fruit
growers.
Spitzenberg apples ara the choicest
variety in the markets of the east.
The Wallace orchard, near this city,
produced this year about Is, 600 boxes
of as fine Spitz"nbergs as grow any
where. The whole crop of this varie-
ty In Hood River valley amounts to
about %, 600 boxes. The Wallace crop
was sold to the David,on Fruit COM
pany, of Hood River, to be packed
and sold by them, and, though the
apples will not he sold as Hood River
apples, every box will be an advertise
ment for that section, for every CON
sumer will MUNICH his apple and sing
the praises of Hood River.
Why should Willamette valley ap-
pies not be packed and sold under a
Willamette valley brand, was asked Of
Salem commission men. Because the
valley has not been producing enough
shipping apples of one variety to just
ify the establishment of packing and
cold storage houses, was the reply
given by u. S. Gile Co., and the |
Capital Commission company, the |
My two handlers OF fruit In this |
ity.
The Wallace orchard is the only Or
chard In this section that produces |
more than carload Of SpitZenbeIgs |
or shipment. There are number of |
growers who produce few hundred |
bushels of Spitzenbergs but the lots |
are 80 small that packers could not |
aft "rd to give their attention to them. |
When some of the young OF chards set |
out in the last few years come into |
bearing and 40 or so carloads can be
secured, packing houses will te estab- |
lished, and then Willamette valley ap-
lea will be sent east in boxes with |
Willamette valley brand. Until then |
valley growers must content them |
selves with Iamenting their short
sightedness in planting large num-
ber of varieties rather than combining |
their attention to one or two varie-
ties that are sure to find favor With |
shippers.
Many orchaIdists proceeded upon
the theory that it would be best to |
plant number of varieties, so that il
one kind did not bear in an unfavor-
able season, another variety would,
and the grower would be pretty sure
Of crop Many we're influenced by
other reasons, but in the end they
have found that in order to find a
ready market, they must have enough
fruit of one we'll known variety to en-.
able the shipper to handle it econom-
ically.
Without a cold storage plant and
packing house, the Salem fruit hand
lers cannot compete with Hood River
buyers. The latter offer higher prices
and get the apples. When Salm
and other valley towns are prepared
to handle the trait valley shippers will
be able to outbld buyers from other
sections, and the fruit will 90 out as
Willamette valley product. In the
meantime this section is not only
gaining no reputation for it's apples,
but is contributing to a very great
extent to the upbuilding of reputa-
tion for another section.
The excellence of apples grown in
this part of the state was convincing
ly shown in this city last Saturday.
Harry X. Spaulding, enterprising
student at Willamette university,
hailing from Sunnyslde, in the Yaki-
ma valley, secured show window In
the John Hughes store and displayed
splendid collection of Yakima ap-
pies, together with an attractive lot
of photos and literature descriptive Of
his home territory. The nerve of the
Yakima boy stunned the Salem apple
growers for while, but when they
iegained their senses they met hi,
challenge by securing the opposite
window in the same store and put in
display of Willamette valley apples.
That the two displays are meIitor-
ious SIS evident from the large
crowds that have stood around the
windows most of the time since. OF
course, Salem people insist that the
Willamette valley exhibit is superior
to that from iakima. The Salem ap-
pies we're grown by L. I. Reynolds,
the Wallace orchard and Andrew Yer
cler. The Yakima boy at least made
the Salem people sit up and take no
tioe. e.-Orepopian.