The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-06-15
BERRY HARVEST
Is UNDER WAY
CLARK SEEDING BESTFOR QUALITY
Variety Propagated at Mt. Tabor Now
Planted on 1000 Acres in Mid
Columbia District

/ OUtofuuio DiothNt
Some men and women cannot eat
straw berries-at least il they do, they
are victims of a discomforting rash,
produced by effects Of ingredients Of
the fruit on peculiar constitutions.
Fortunately this number of the popula-
tion is negligible. A box of luscious,
red Clark Seedlings is tempting, and
the mere sight of them to human eyes
brings universal and irresistible i'm
pulse. It's a strong willed person who
can refuse the appeal Of box of ber-
ries, especially of Clark Seedlings. and
in these days OF Junetine, berry har-
vest days. when thousands of crates of
the delicious Seedlings are finding their
way from field 20 market, just very,
very few say nay. The remainder Of
that negligible portion OF the poplation
20 right ahead and eat their fill, and
then, perhaps. wish that modern day
society had Duke of Argyle to raise
countless scratching posts.
| Mere straw berries are as old as the
ages. Historians have found them the
food of royalty and peasant alike, and
writer's of fiction have delighted in
drawing pen pictures of heroines break
fasting on straw berries and cream.
Every uncultivated tract of every val
ley floor in the midi Columbia region
will be found today carpeted with thou
sands of the plants of wild strawber-
ries.
But the Clark Seeding mention the
name in circles of commission mer-
chants-is scarcely older than the fruit
industry of the Hood River valley and
contiguous fruit districts. The berry is
a native product of Oregon. Some 40
years ago the parent plant was propa-
| gated by man whose name the variety
bears, in the Mount Tabor district. In
| 1879 the first Clark Seedlings were
brought to the Hood River valley by B.
Warren, an Oregon pioneer, now de-
ceased. Mr.. Warren's widow resides
in Portland. 7. K. Coon. a pioneer
schoolmaster and first teacher of Fred
eric Homer Balch, author of "The
Bridge of the Gods" according to rec
ords, planted the first commercial tract
of Clark Seedlings in the Hood River
valley. The fruit today is produced in
commercial quantities in the Hood Riv-
er and Underwood and White Salmon,
WASH. districts. The approximate
acreage of berries in the three districts
is as follows: Underwood. 40: White
Salmon. 800; Hood River, $50. The
crop of this season will reach well
towards l20.000 crates or more than
IT'S carloads.
Other varieties of Strawberries are
more prolific than Clark Seedlings but
none contain more favor and no berries
have won such recognition for shipping
qualities. Clark Seedlings have been
shipped safely as far east ss Chicago.
and the larger PERCENTAGE of the local
crop is distributed throughout Montana
| and other inter-mountain sections and
the Dakotas. As in the case of the
apple crops the Strawberries are ham
died by the cooperative sales agencies.
More than 95 per cent of the fruit of
| the three districts is sold by the Apple
Growers Association with which the
White Salmon Growers Association. the
sales agency covering the two Washing
ton districts. has for the past two years
maintained joint agreement.
| Because of the topography of the two
districts, the latitude of the fields grad.
ually rising from 200 and 800 feet along
1900 and 1000 feet in the more remote
sections of the valleys, the harvesting
season of the mid Colubmia berries ex-
tends over comparatively longer peri
cd than any other fruit district.
Strawberry harvest is now at its
height, and more than 1000 pickers
from outside communities are engaged
in the work. Except for about 100
Indians the pickers are made up largely
from families OF Portland and william
ette Valley cities. 1t is estimated that
as many as 500 members of growers
families also help pick and pack the
| fruit.
Berry harvest scenes are interesting.
Every grove in portions of the West
Side of the Hood Rivervalley and those
communities of White Salmon and Un-
derwood sections best adapted to berries
has its company of campers. Spring
ter rains are usually over by the time
Strawberries are ripening. and the har-
vest hands live in tents. Indeed, in
addition to the profit derived, the ber-
Try pickers consider the several weeks
spent in the fields as an outing, a vaca.
tion for the entire family.
/ The baby coos and chatters in an i'm
provised crib in the open air, and the
camp visitor may even see the family
i dog or cat. Some of the best pickers
are small children.
Indians come to the berry fields year
after year from the Warm Springs and
Va nj ot tsnra nd fxQVro falsln
Growers declare the Redmen to be
among the best and cleanest pickers.
Some of the largest berry tracts in the
Hood River distict are now owned by
Japanese. More than so japanese
ranchers are members of the Apple
Growers Association. The Nipponese
always endeavor to secure Indian pick
ers.
The numbers of Indian berry harvest
ers have been dwindling for some un.
known reason during the past several
years. In former years the tribesmen
visited the valley 500 strong. The In.
dian dances, given in huge fir and
pine grove west of the city, were ar
event of berry harvest time. The last
big dance was given in 1911. By some
u 10 ucCidIcu tudt tuc luuiduc nave
resented the development of these bits
of forest that have been left by orch.
ardists and that their dances have been
discontinued for lack of place to give
them. However, on this season
spokesman of Yakima and Cello tribes
have negotiated with the management
of the ball park and have planned tc
give exhibition dances. The dances OF
the olden days, when at sunset the tom
toms could be heard beating in the
West Side groves. we're given appar'
emily for pleasure. Indeed, the Indians
seemed to resent the intrusion Of the
hundreds of spectators. But the Red.
man has grown commercial. and the
proposed terpsichorean exhibitions will
be made in the hope of liberal gate re-
ceipts.
While the Indian berry harvesteri
cling to the costumes they have de-
a n - a