Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1911-02-28
SPEAK
HORTICULTURISTS
Concluded From Page. ID

Concluded From Page. ID
After the sixth or eighth year they re-
ouire much less attention than an ap-
nle are practically free from bllghI
and do not require the skill that Is
needed in producing apples. A man
can care for from 40 to 80 acres oi
walnuts, where he could care for only
10 of apples BY hard work, untlrlng
| energy. and the use of brains and skill,
if Is perhaps possible that better re-
/ turns may be had from apples
1 They should be planted about 10 TO
the acre. Unless staked, they should
he headed very low, otherwise they
will lean in every direction. After
six or eight years the heads are natur-
ally open, and they do not need much
thinning or shaping.
Best Location.
on the question of the best location
I for walnut growing, Mr.. Williamson
does not agree with the majority OF
the oregon authorities He would Sc
/ lect the best soil, regardless OF loca-
I ton, and take chances on frost. Ihe
walnut thrives best on rich, deep
alluvial soil, but not on low water
soaked ground, that lacks good dram
/ age. Where the soil is only three or
/ four feet deep they do not do we'll
Before the trees are well developed,
frost may cut them back to some eX-
tent, but will not materially hurt them'
This. he explained, was merely offered
as his opinion, and not as advice.
| A grated tree bears in four to five
wears, a Seeding in from nine to 10,
and tree will bear from so to 6O
pounds per year. In full maturity they
will yield about 1000 pounds per acre
and will be worth about $500 per acre
Over Production.
One of the most valuable addresses
was that of H. NJ. Williamson, on
"Oyer Production" which was given
in the afternoon and concluded the
session. "Over production, as refer
red to by the fruit man consisted in
producing more fruit than we could
sell" he said. "A few years ago prune
raising became popular, and they very
quickly reached a state of over pro-
duction-not because there were too
many, but simply because the prune
was then unknown in the markets OF
the world. In the case of cherries we
have a surplus at times on the market,
but it is the result of under produc-
ton and not over production If we
produced more, We would be in a pet-
ter shape to take care of them. We
could then afford to operate pre-cool-
ing stations, and adopt other scientlhc
methods that would put our fruit into
distant markets in perfect shape
When we have 10 times the apples
that we have today, we will be in a
position to secure better prices.
Over Boosting.
There comes in every business de-
velopment a stage where the profes-
sonal boosters step in and take charge
of it, and exaggerate it and oVerdo 1t
The simple fact that we are planting
immense acreages of apple trees in tho
United States does not mean that We
will have a corresponding increase IL
the production of apples. There wa!
a greater apple boom in 1892. In 1891
there were 12O million apples trees il
this country. In 1900 there were 2o'
million of all kinds, or 80 million more
than i'm 1890. Between 1885 and 1S9!
there were a million and half acre
set out to fruit. There is no suci
boom now. We talk about over-plant
ing here in the Northwest, when ther
is perhaps not 100000 acres of orch
ard in Oregon. Washington and Idaho
Apple production did not fully reacl
the maximum in 1896, and we haV
been going back ever since. AS il
other lines of industry, too many peo
pie will be carried away by the boon
spirit. The great bulk of the appl
trees now being planted in the North
I west will not cut much figure in tn
production of apples.
l Survival of Fittest.
"Over production is inevitable in eV
ery branch of human industry whicl
is not limited by natural or artihcia
| monopoly, and all progress has bee
I made by survival of the fittest. Tn
hest orchards, the best methods, vii
survive when those of inferior quail
ties will have been driven out of tn
business
.The best remedy for over prOduc
| tion is the adoption of better methods
This is especially true of apples. L
the most noted fruit county OF Ne'
York there are is orchards with aver
age gross sales of over $300 per acre
In the same county there are Is
| common orchards whose average sale
are not $50 per acre. The dinerenc
is not i'm the location, not in the soil
| but I'm the men and methods.
Growing the fruit is but one-hal
of the apple business. The marketing
problem is as important as the pro
/ ducing problem. In the past our frui
has nearly all been shipped to fiv
I large cities of the United States-NeY
York. Chicago. Philadelphia, St Pau
and Minneapolis.
Sales Agencies Needed.
The time has come when we mus
have organized sales agencies ana 10
cal organizations. More than that. W
| will probably find II advantageous L
follow the methods Of the large com
mercial organizations and go atte
trade: but perhaps it will not be nee
essary to continue longer than II take
TO introduce our products Selilh
agents will be located in every import
ant trade center. There is much to D
done before there is danger Of over
production.
we think that because we kno'
about oregon apples everybody els
does. but the great mass OF America
4 people do not really know anythin
about oregon apples today. We can
not expect them to look MS up. Tha
Is not according to the methods
/ modern business. We must let theI