Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-04-08
Future Wealth of
Washington Farmer
is in Fruit Crop
Developments to Make Northern Pa
cifio State One of Worlds Great
est Orchard Sections.
Washington IS a fruIL country.

Washington is a fruit country.
Not markedly so as yet, but yet to be.
The climate assures IL. The planting now
going on assures it. The procession Of
fruit bearing trees begins far down the
coast in the southwest corner Of California
skips over the Siskiyou mountains and
begins again i'm southern oregon close to
the California line and passes northward
clear into Washington. The Umpqua val
ley is not yet widely known as a fruit
center commercial planting on a small
scale being but recently begun. but there
are many fine orchards. and shipments are
steadily increasing. There is absolutely no
question about the success of the industry
here, in apples, pears. peaches, plunes,
cherries the apricot and all the small
fruits. In size, in appearance, in color and
flavor they are equal to any and there
have been no crop failures. one grower
Of peaches says that in eleven years he
has had no failure. The shelter of the
hills and the absence of frost and fog
make ideal conditions and the elevation
is just right as is most of the soil. Much
hill land can here be utilized for various
kinds Of fruit, and its low price will make
the orchard inexpensive. The experienced
grower sees everywhere on these hill
slopes, in the bend of these hill streams,
and in the small sheltered valleys ideal
orchard sites and they will rapidly be oc-
cupied. 1t Is a matter Of interest to the
new settler He gets in at the inception
Of great movement that for dozen years
has been exceedingly profitable to few
and is destined to make every section Of
southern and western oregon famous for
the quality Of it's orchard fruit
There has been no advertisement of this
section as phenomenal in fruit production
The naturally high quality of the fruit mas
made its way, while the early Tipening en-
ables the grower to reach various markets
in time to get the benefit of first season
prices. Umpqua valley fruit gets the
same transcontinental rate in car lots
that all other fruit districts Of the north
west do, and when fruit can be made to
yield from $500 to $1,000 an acre there is
here many a fortune to be won by skillful
methods, and much to enrich the farmer
who devotes part of his land to apples or
other fruit.
More than 100000 pounds of cured
prunes are turned off yearly from this Sec
ton and yield a steady and satisfactory
| income-perhaps fourfold more than the
average eastern or middle west farmer gets
| rum lilIGt VI lOuI AiLlts lne acreage lHuE
from ten acres In this vicinity. the owner
has taken 81, 200 for a single crop, with but
ordinary expenses of harvesting and cur
| ing. single Baldwin apple tree has re.
| turned eighteen boxes of apples which. al
/ $lbO box would yield the sum of $27 pei
! tree. An average yield OF half this amount
would mean a comfortable fortune fror
i ten acres.
| The man who wins out in modern fruit
culture as 1t is practiced on this coast
must be both dligent and skiHful. II,
| cannot go fishing today and work a little
! tomorrow but must watch details and mas
| ter the business from the selection OF
| ground to the packing of the crop but tha
| done, buyers will not be lacking They
| are constantly looking for the best. and
| orchards are bought entire for so mucf
per box for all first-class fruit Often tn,
product Of an orchard is contracted for II
| advance. 1t is merely a question of thu
| orchard and its management What tn,
climate will do is well known. 1t all Gomez
back to that Why Oregon apples an,
! pears should be wanted in New York an,
| Boston, in London and Hamburg at prices
! unheard Of in Michigan or Missouri, no on
can tell If quality be ignored. And IL tn
| quality makes the price, there is no mys
terry about it. The best always gets tot
prices. Here the hest spring out of
combination Of soil and climate, the ire
finding itself at home In both.