The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-09-12
is beautifuI and exceptionaIIy pleasant

1 ahazemeht over the CROWN ana per
fection.
The entire tract presents the on,
idea and that of the carrying out il
detail of thoughtfully systematicsll.
planned scheme with all secondary fac
tors made subordinate to the main one
and that the development of orcharI
homes Of the highest possible type.
.. The irrigation system is the fines
in the northwest, and so far as / know
in the world. Water is served eontin
uously in pipes under pressure as il
large cities, furnishing to orchardist
pure water for domestic use, making
possible sanitary plumbing in thei
homes. and assisting so materially il
economical and effective irrigation
the straight avenues, streets and alley
of uniform width and side planting
the same kind of fence used for al
holdings, the uniformity of the treei
as to age, variety, pruning and genera
development in each addition, and uni
form thorough culture over all, makes
the orchards undoubtedly the most uni
form lot of orchards anywhere in tbs
northwest.
The planting plans used are of tn,
most highly approved types for thI
production of well developed, long
lived trees, and orchards that will
prove profitable to their owners. TSss
Where filters have been used with
rare exceptions, they are placed il
such manner as to not interfere with
the orchard trees proper and can be
economically removed after they haN {
served their purpose. ss.azsaAs 81
The only factors in planting that
personally would have made different
are in the distances of the permanent
trees and the use of certain filters.
should have reduced the distance some,
what, inasmuch as these lands are rich
the soil deep and sufficient water fol
irrigation is available; however, it is
far better to plant too far apart thar
, too close together. Relative to filters,
am of the opinion that pears gener.
ally make more profitable filters in ap.
pie orchards than any class OF fruit
useable.
The cultivation of the orchards as
whole is perfect. In early spring
deep discing and blowing thoroughly
prepares the soil for the summer sea
son shallow tillage, which serves tC
make plant food available, conserve
moisture and keep weeds out. Late in
the summer the sowing of cover crops
on soil that shows deficiency in hui
mus, or an inclination to bake severely
after irrigation, emphasizes the fact
of the highest type of cultivation
known to the western orchardist.
Immediately after planting. the
trees are cut back to from fifteen tC
eighteen inches from the ground to in.
sure low headed, open topped fruit
trees. The prunings following the
first have all been with the one purpose
in view. that of producing profitable,
long-lived tree. The trees four to five
years old show the value of this
method of pruning and training and
now are trees that any orchardist
might well be proud of having had a
hand in their development. The uni
formity of development and strong
short branches forming the frame
work, are everywhere apparent.
"One would naturally expect to find
every kind of orchard pest in district
the size of this; however, remarkable
as it may seem. after carefully inspect
ing these orchards twice during the
past season and riding through many
times, l did not lind single serious
pest present. This is due in part tC
the thorough system of inspection that
is practiced in the selection of stock
and the great care used in the check
ing at once of anything that might
prove injurious or detrimental to the
orchard industry.
THE real test of piece of practical
work is best shown in the final results
achieved. This is strikingly true of
the project. A chemist may find suffi-
cient plant food in the soil to produce
many crops of fruit-the weatherman
finds the weather conditions good and
the horticulturist pronounces every
thing the best, and yet the best proof
is the growth of the trees and the
quantity and quality of the fruit. The
three and four year old trees on the
tracts last year completely verified the
expectations of even the most san.
guine. The fruit was well colored, of
good commercial form and excellent
quality. Its texture at harvest time
demonstrated beyond a doubt that it
possessed good shipping qualities, a
very valuable asset for highly colored
fruit.
In very short time the Lewiston
Land & Water Company's orchard
tracts will be producing train loads of
we'll colored, high quality, excellent
shipping fruit. The experimental
stage is now past. 1t is now a reality
ranked as one of the leading fruit
districts of the northwest. w. S.
Ihornber. Professor of Horticulture,
Washington State College.