The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1908-01-30
WHITNEY DELIVERS
FINE ADDRESS
GIVES HISTORY OF FRUIT GROW
ING IN THE WALlA WALLA
VALLEY,


SO far, was given by CharlesL. Whit
ney, county fruit inspector at yester-
day afternoons meeting when he spoke
on fruit growing in the Walla Walla
valley. past. present and future. Mr..
Whitney's address was reDlete with a
history of the fruit industry as de-
was listened to with great interest by
the delegates attending the convention.
Mr. Whitney said in part:
Mr.. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:
1 am going to talk to you for few
hours (more or less) on fruit growing
in the Walla Walla valley-past,
present and future. We grew very fine
fruit in the past. We are growing some
pretty good fruit now. and hope to
grow better fruit in the future.
The Walla walla valley was intended
by nature to be one of the finest fruit
countries on earth-with its rich soil.
pure running water and delightful cli-
mate
In those good old days of yore when
one had only to plant the tree and
gather the fruit, this was surely fine
fruit country. Many old apple trees
planted fifty years ago are still living
and bearing good fruit, some of the
men who planted them are still living.
Away back in 1850, Mr.. Gillian
planted quite a large orchard which
produced the very finest of apples.
peaches, cherries, pears etc. Then
in 1859, Mr.. James w. Foster planted
an apple orchard and from II trees
loaded pack mule team with 1900
pounds of Walla Walla's fancy reds at
so cents per pound or $500 off of II
trees. These were loaded on the backs
of mules (not a very fancy pack,
however, but quite a fancy price, and
taken to distant mining camps, where
they sold readily at 81 per pound Now.
if you don't believe me you can ask Mr..
Foster who is still living in our city,
and you can stand in the shade of
those old apple trees and pick good
Blue Pearmains and Yellow Newton
Pippins yet.
The proof of the pudding you know
is the eating thereof. Why, in those
good old days, an apple orchard was
better than a gold mine, because you
had to dig the gold out of the ground
while you could pick the fruit out of
the air.
There are many beautiful and fruit
full valleys in this land of our great
northwest. where the big red apple
such natural advantages to the or
chardist as our own valley of many
waters.
We can give you any kind of land
you wish-irrigated-s or
non -irrigated-we also have variety
of soils from the Eeavy foothills soil
to the dark river bottom loan and
again the light volcanic ash. So you
can have your choice of location in
selecting your orchard site for grow
ing apples Of uniform SIZE beautiful in
color and delicious in flavor.
I am not going to boast but 1 want
to give you a few facts. In the days
before the Goblin moth had discovered
what a fine fruit valley we had, we
used to win first prizes at alb the fruit
fairs. Once we captured the 800 first
premium at the state fair at Yakima;
then in 1895 we got the gold medal at
the old Spokane fruit fair; then the
hundred dollar Dodson cup at Spokane
and in 1897 we went back to get the
cup again but the Goblin had gotten
in his work and We got left. And the
cup went to Whitman county.
Do you know the largest apple in
the world originated in the Walla Wal
la Walla valley six miles from this city.
the Maxson Seeding. but Spokane
stole the name away from us and
named it the Spokane Beauty.
They are great rustlers up there and
you will have to look out for them.
but we don't care. it was a Yakima
man who grew the big apple that cap
tured the American flag at st. Louis,
and then it was Wenatchee man who
took first prize on the Maxson at the
Lewis & Clark fair as the largest ap-
pie in the world. Now how is that for
Walla Walla soil, if it can grow seed
lings that big what could it do on
grated fruit? But when the Goblin
moth visited our valley too much
all was changed. We had fought the
San Jose scale to finish but the cod
lin moth was too much for us. Many
orchard men dug up their trees ami
seeded the ground to alfalfa or planted
it to wheat They had a notion that tht
bugs in this valley We're harder to kill
than in the Yakima or Wenatchee val
leys. but l made UP my mind last
spring that we would give them one
good battle. what matter if we did
lose. So l wrote to President BRYAN of
Pullman college to send down the best
Goblin moth fighter in the state. and
Professor Melander was the man Sc
lected. We held the meeting in Wall1
Walla and about one hundred fruit