Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-07-06

er prices in the great cities of the
United States and in the markets of
London, Paris, Hamburg, Hong Kong,
and other marts of the Old World
than the product Of any other section.
In size. flavor, appearance and ship
ping quality, the standard of perfec-
tion has been reached This excel
lence is not alone confined to the
fruit grown in this particular section
OF Oregon, but the Willamette valley
and Salem are in a fruit district that
acknowledges no superior in apple
growing. All of the standard varie-
ties of choice shipping apples are
grown in the valley and are shipped
in carload lots to the Eastern mar
kets where they meet with unlimited
demand, selling readily at from $3.50
to $500 per box of one bushesl 9th
er grades of the fruit command good
prices in the local market. There
are fortunes to be made in annie
growing in the Willamette Wiley.
PruneS.
Through selection of the right var
iety of tree, intelligent cultivation
careful picking and drying, the Ore
gon prune has gained worldwide
reputation, and the demand Is great
ly in excess of the supply. From a
commercial point of view, the prune
is at this time the leader in decidu-
Gus fruits grown in the valley. and
is a source of great income to the
growers. Three principal varieties
grown are the Italian, French. or
Petite, and the Silver. The best re-
suits are secured from the Italian
variety, which is produced to even
greater perfection in size, flavor and
quality than in its native haunts in
Italy This Italian or Oregon prune
is a large fruit of the plum family.
When. ripe, 10 to IA prunes weigh a
pound. Artificial evaporation is used
to dry the fruit The yield per acre
is from 200 to $50 bushels in the
older orchards. One hundred bush
els Of the green fruit make a ton of
the cured product which sells at
from $50 to s1OO, according to the
grade. The cost of cultivation does
not exceed the cost of producing a
crop of grain The prune harvest be-
gins about the middle of September
and continues for 80 days. The work
of picking. dipping. rinsing. spread-
ing, grading, cleansing, etc. gives
employment to thousands of men.
women and children. After dipping
in boiling water the fruit is rinsed in
cold water and then spread on trays.
1t next goes into dryers. where evan
Grafton takes place. After 80 to 40
hours in the kiln. the fruit is hauled
to the packing establishments, where.
after grading. it is thoroughly
cleansed and sterilized by steam. and
is then packed in boxes of different
size for the market.
Cherries.
Among the many excellent fruits
grown in the vicinity of Salem, none
is better than the cherry. That Ore
gon and the Willamette valley in
particular is especially adapted to
growing this fruit is proven by the
size, flavor and beauty of the cher
ries, and also from the fact that most
of the largest and best black ship
ping varieties originated here, viz:
Lambert, Bing. loskin, Black Repub-
lican and others, and it is only in the
white canning cherries of the variety
known here as the Royal Anne, that
any introduced varieties equal those
originated in Oregon BY unanimous
vote Of the Pacific Coast Nursery
mems association, Salem has been de-
nominated THE Cherry City" The
right to the name is undisputed. The
Cherry Fair has become an annual
event at Salem, and is attended by
thousands. 1t is predicted that with
in the next 10 years the Willamette
valley will be producing more cher
ries for commercial purposes than
all the rest of the United States.
The fruit grows to great perfection
and in great quantity. No pests have
ever attacked the fruit to render it
unmarketable. A New York house
recently placed large order for pie
cherries to be shipped, after cooking.
in barrels This is a novel but not
impracticable way of marketing the
cherry product The chief market is
now the cannory. A single tree of
the Royal Anne variety will at times
nroduce 500 pounds of fruit. The
fruit ships we'll, and by refrigeration
it. is planned to place the product on
the market in the large Eastern
cities Cherries do best on the we'll
drained fertile red soil of the hill
lands Those produce most of the
fruit which has given Salem promi-
nence everywhere as the home of as
good cherries as can be produced.
My cherries yielded at the rate Of
S64O per acre.-Rev F. n George
Salem,