Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-08-28
MORE THAN 500 ACRES DEVOTED
TO WALNUT CULTURE IN VI
CFNITY OF ALBANY.
TREES BEAR VERY YOUNG5
Business and Professional Men Acquiring
Land and Planting Walnut
Trees.
GOOD RETURNS ARE LOOKED FOR.

ALBANY. Ore, Aug. 2o-More than
500 acres in Linn county are now de-
voted to commercial walnut culture.
Half of this acreage was planted this
year and all of it in the last three years.
The acreage was approximately doubled
this year and it is expected that the
present acreage will be doubled again
next year All of these new growers
are planning 10 adopt scientific methods
of cultivation 70 develop successful COM
mercial orchards.
At the present time not an acre OF
commercial walnuts in the county Is
bearing About 200 acres will be bear
ing in three years and 500 acres III four
or five years. This shows the vast
growth of this industry in this part OF
the state.
Acreage Rapidly Increases.
There are no trees bearing now but i'll,
dividual trees in the yards of farm ana
city residences, and while these trees
have taught the lesson that walnuts be
gin bearing early in this part, OF the
state and yield we'll. 1t generally takes
from four to six years after the tree is
planted for it to attain full bearing
powers in the Willamette valley, but
they often bear earlier. The most re-
marka BILE instance of early bearing OF
walnut trees ever noted here is that OF
tree in the yard of the residence of l..
E. Blain, a prominent local merchant.
A 1-year-oh tree which was planted III
his yard this last spring has one nut
on it this summer.
County Fruit Inspector e. G. Roberts
estimates that from 400 to 500 acres OF
walnuts will be planted in this county
next year. He says that several tfactS
OF ten and twenty acres each are TO pc
devoted to walnut culture and some
larger orchards will be set out. All ar
the trees now being planted here are
French walnuts and most of them are OF
the Eranquette and Mayette varieties,
the others being Praepaturians. Prac-
tically all of the new growers are plant
ing grated trees or else are planting
seedlings with the expectation OF graft
ing them. Very few planters are using
the second generation nut.
Oregon Nuts of Superior Quality.
The remarkable increase in acreage of
Walnuts is due to the recent education
of the people to the fact that walnut
growing is proving profitable undertak-
ing in the Willamette valley. Western
Oregon produces very superior nut 10
that grown in other parts of the world,
orchardists assert, and Linn county is
said to be particularly adapted to the
new industry.
The new orchards show conclusivelI
that walnut growing is attracting All
classes of people. Many farmers are set
ting out commercial orchards on por-
ton of their farms, and business and
profess. onal men are acquiring tracts OF
land in the vicinity of their home towns
for the purpose. A number OF women
with some spare capital are numbered
among Linn county's new walnut grow
ers. Among them is Miss Helen Craw-
ford. for many years instructor in elo-
cution in the Oregon Agricultural college,
whose instructors have done much in re-
cent institutes to educate the people
to the advantages of scientific walnut
culture. Miss Crawford will plant ten
acres of walnuts near Lebanon.
Advised to Plant Wide Apart.
County Fruit Inspector Roberts is
warning the new planters against mis-
take that has been made by a number
of people who were among the first to
set out walnut orchards in this county
and elsewhere in the state. In some in
stances trees were set out from dis
lance of 10 to % feet apart, thus giving
60 to y trees to the acre. The trees
are thus so close together that by the
time they are ten years old their limbs
will be interlocked, which, growers say,
often hinders production or lowers the
standard of the nut. Roberts advises
planters to set out their trees from 80
to &c feet apart, placing only from 10
to II trees on an acre.