Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-15
tributed among a large number or small

tributed among large number or SINAI
number OF apples. The smaller the num-
Der the larger the fruit and the finer the
| flavor. Hence the object OF nearly an
| the husba ndmen in the Hood River valley
| is to increase the size and improve the
! quality Of their fruit rather than the
bulk. The demand for Hood RIVER appies
and the price that is paid for them. lndi-
| markedly successful. The prices nave
been going up rather than coming down
with the increase of the volume of the
crops. And people here are confident
that the market will absorb all the apples
| they can raise, provided the quality Is
kept up. That is the policy advocated by
all the horticultural societies and com
| mercial bodies Those who are interested
| in the development of the valley are all
| the time preaching the doctrine that 1T is
better to improve the quality than in
crease the crop. and the great majority OF
orchard men agree with them.
Hood River Valley.
Hood river is happy. reckless, dashing
stream which rises in the glaciers on
Mount Hood and comes tumbling down
| over the rocks with a dash and laugh
until it enters a wide valley which has
been broken through the ranges that run
north and south. Then it enters mar
row gorge just east of the town ana is
lost in the great Columbia.
You have to climb steep bluff to get
into the valley, and then you discover
that it is more like a plateau. after all,
with a gradual slope up toward the sum-
| NIT Of Mount Hood, which rises LIS
feet from the sea and almost IL 600 feet
above the Columbia river The plateau is
undulat ting and is cut in places by little
streams which run into Hood river. All
of the land upon the level has been plant
ed to orchards, and now the mountain
sides are being cleared of timber, the
stumps are being plowed up and little
apple trees are being set out in long,
straight rows, as precise as soldiers on
parade. 1t has been demonstrated that
apples will grow up to an elevation of
1000 feet
The soil Of the valley is volcanic, the
climate is mild. the winter is short and
the summer is long. The mild winters
are due to the warm Japan current,
! which sweeps north through the Pacific
in the winter months. and the chinook
| wind. which tempers the weather all
along the Pacific coast and is confidently
against frosts. The minimum tempera-
ture for a period of fifteen years has
been % degrees, the maximum - de-
srees. There has never been any dam
age to the orchards from the frost.
Fame Due to Inspector Coe.
Hood River valley owes its name and
fortunes to Nathaniel Coe, a post office
inspector, who was sent out to Ore
gon by the government In the early
fifties. He took up a homestead claim on
Hood river, which had been abandoned
by a man named William Loughlin, and
set out an orchard Of seedlings brought
from New York on the present site Of
the town. His apples were sought for
by local buyers and from Portland in
| those early days, and brought him good
profit. but Mr.. Coe never dreamed of the
possibilities they represented. Gradually
other orchards were added to his and
the marketable crop increased year after
year until it became of value to the few
settlers in the valley: but the growth OF
the business was gradual and natural.
and was due to the high quality of fruit
| that was sent to market.
The. profits of the Hood river farmers
from fruit growing being advertised.
brought in settlers. but the population OF
the town by the census OF 1880 was only
a little more than 500 and that of the
valley about 1000 Since then the growth
has been more rapid and the population
of the town is now estimated at 25OO
and that of the valley at 5000, while the
wealth has increased several thousand
example, in 1880 there was only one bank
in Hood river, and that had only $50, 600
deposits from a large territory. Today
there are three banks in Hood river
alone, with deposits of $792,717 on Sep
tember 1. and two more banks at White
Salmon, across on the north bank of the
Columbia river. with corresponding
amount. Leslie Butler. to whom | have
already alluded. started the first bank
and is still in the business. His deposits
have increased from $50, 600 to SSH ono
! in nine years, and he says that is a fair