Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-15

will produce at least 100000 boxes a
year. 1t is estimated that the annual
crop ten rs~from now will be 2O0O,0OO
poxes, and when you know that these ap-
pies sell for an average price of 81. sc
box on the tree, you can have some ap-
probation of the value Of the industry.
The cash value of last years crop was
something over $75O.OOO and that money
came into the hands of few men.
Strawberries Between the Trees.
While the young trees are growing it is
customary to plant strawberries between
the rows. ard last year there were 75f
acres, producing an average of lis
crates Of Clarks seedlings per acre which
sold as high as s3.35 a crate. The people
of Hood River boast that their strawber-
ries have never suffered the ignominy OF
going to a cannery, and of the 10000
crates which have been shipped from this
town in a single season, every basket has
been sold for the table at the top prices,
often as high as 81 a crate. The straw
berries are large and firm and have been
shipped as far as Hongkong in one direc-
ton and London in the other without de-
caying
1t is asserted that the average cost of
cultivating Clark's seedlings is $40 an
acre. and that the average net profits de
rived from the 756 acres in this valley
Will range from $3.50 to $3.50 an acre.
Some strawberry growers have made as
high as $3.50 an acre, but every man .s
not SO fortunate. 1t requires intelligence,
hard work and the highest degree OF pa
thence to make this money, and. as one
gentleman expressed 1t, YOU have to Gull
tivate your strawberry beds with a fine
toothef comb.
The profits Of apple orchards have
been quite as large and in some cases
even larger The books OF the Hood
River Apple Growers Union and other
organizations are open to the inspection
Of those who are interested in the sub
ject. and Leslie Butler of the banking
firm OF Butler & Co. who IS the first citi
zen of Hood River. and we'll known
throughout Oregon, will vouch for their
accuracy. The tales that are told about
credible that the Commercial Club, the
Apple Growers Union and the various
fruit companies give the names of the
men in each instance. For example, E. Fl.
Sheppard I'm 1907 made a net profit Of $500
an acre from his orchard of 49, acres:
chard of three acres for S4,2oS, a. 1.
Mason sold his crop from three and a
half acres for S2.5G2: F. Eggert sold his
crop from an orchard OF fifteen acres for
Indefinitely.
Care and Patience.
There are frequent failures, but they
are the fault Of the men and not OF the
trees. No fool can make money in apple
growing here or anywhere else, and the
size and value of the crop depend en-
trely upon. the manner in which It Is
planted and cultivated In driving about
the valley you will see orchards OF rag
sed trees that haven't been trimmed
for years. Some Of the limbs will be
dropping to the earth under the weight
of apples and the ground will be covered
with weeds and various forms Of UNDER
growth. The next orchard will be neatly
trimmed, the soil will be as bare and as
fine as the dust of an Oregon roadway
and you will be told that about half OF
they were green. When ripening time
comes, the experts will tell you, the
clean and neat orchard will produce a
crop of perfect fruit Of high flavor that
will seh for the maximum price. There
will not be so many apples as in the neg
lected orchard, but they will be worth
three or four times as much
The rule here Is to pillow an orchard
twice year and harrow 1t at least twice
and when weed appears above the sur
face of the ground the owner of the
orchard goes for it as If it were a wild
beast. There must be no other vegeta-
ton in an apple orchard. The trees after
ed to have all the nourishment and all
the moisture there are in the soil, and no
two apples must touch each other while
they are hanging upon the boughs. A
sklllful huSbandmdn can regulate the size
and quality of his apples by pruning and
plucking them. A healthy tree of GER
tain size is capable of producing q certain
weight of high-grade apples. and no more.
The husba ndman has the option of de-
Gliding whether that weight shall be dis