The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1920-01-01
RECORDS MADE
DURING 1919
VALLEY RETURNS REACH s., ,OOO, 900
Speculative Element Taken 0ut Of Fruit
Industry and Business Settles
to Profitable BASIS

county gross income this year, IN
GLIDING lumber from the two big
p ants of the Oregon Lumber Co. at |
Dee and the Bridal Veil Lumber Co |
al Cascade Locks. will approach |
s, 900, 600. but $1,000, 600 less than
the assessed valuation.
Apples, Of course, will lead in
b -inging profit to Hood River. Esti-
II ates on total returns from the COM
nunlty's predominant industry approx
innate more than S4, 800. 600. While the
district has had heavier yield of
: strawberries, the crop of Clark Seed
lings of last year was of excellent
quality and new nationwide price
record was set. Except for the ship
ment of the latter part of the season,
the berries brought S4 per crate of "a
andard pint hallocks. Even the field
Tick and canning berries remained at
+ ON 81. 75 to ~ per box. The high
prices limiting the usual annual can
ng pack of local housewives. Hood
kgVer's cherry orchards, with the eX-
,CptiOn of a single -four acre tract, are
h nited to backyard trees Yet the
surplus from hOme.use stocks of this
ait brought Hood River nearly $50.
@ o this year. Pear and potato crops
: owed an unusual yield and have
ought record prices. Pear returns
y i'll reach $l75, 900. and the commun-
Us potatoes, the larger percentage
e. which. grown in the Upper Hood
hiver Valley, will go for seed TO Cali.
tsrnia growers. The Upper Valley
y III have over 100 carloads of extra
alitv potatoes.
The outstanding feature of the Hood
Elver valleys product for the past
year has been that of quality. More
sprays have been applied than on for
ner seasons. Growers have paid more
attention to scientific methods of cul
tivation and irrigation. The result of
proper rotation of cover crops and
application of nitrate of soda and other
commercial fertilizers have evidenced
themselves in increase of yield and
mer year, even when the orchards
y'ere young, have Hood River apples
teen freer from disease and codling
moth. More than 70 per cent of the
big apple crop ran to extra fancy
grade of the sizes most desirable in
the market. When it is considered
that the tonnage for the year has been
go per cent greater than that of any
former season, the above facts are
given additional gratifying significance
The magnitude of the 1919 Hood
River valley apple crop can be better
comprehended both by local residents
and outsiders when it is stated that
the harvest labor cost alone reached
$500, 600.
Increased yield in orchards, general
prosperity and the nationwide demand
for soft drinks stimulated to an un-
precedented mark by prohibition has
resulted in an activity in cider man
ufacturing. One Of the most notable
improvements in industrial lines in
Hood River for the past year has
occurred at the plant of the Hood
River Apple Vinegar Co. Ten years
ago the plant of this company occupied
small two story shack on city lot
Today, factory, tanks. condensing
plant and storage bins cover more
than city block. The company has
expended S60, 600 in improvements, and
the years grind will reach 70, 600. 000
pounds of Gull apples. Gull apple
stocks have made rapid increase in
price. On former years the maximum
price for low and mixed grades was
IS per ton and $40 and $l2 per ton for
selected canning and cooking grades
This year the price has ranged from
Sl5 to 500 per ton. Portland cider con.
Germs have made a demand on local
Gull stocks and shipments there and to
The Dalles Gamers and process plants
will reach nearly 5000 tons. The Gull
apples Of the valley will bring in
approximately S225, 600.
The Hood River Canning Co.. one of
the most unique concerns in the
country, is that it aims to pack a
product of super-eXcellent quality, has
doubled its capacity. The seasons run
on strawberries. cherries and pears
resulted in total pack of 1873, 600
cans. A total of 280, 900 cans of the
valleys best grade of apples will be
packed. The canning company's pay
roll for the years run will approach
$40. 600.
The orchard industry began to show
marked profits over the dull years
from 1912 to 1917 when the returns
were all in from the 1918 crop. Bank
ers noted the generally increasing
stability of the county's financial CON
dition, and today Hood River banks,
their total deposits past the $1,000
900 mark, are seeking outside invest
ments and loans. A fair percentage
of the profits from orcharding are
returning to the business, and invest
ments Of growers in packing houses
and orchard warehouses for the hand
ling of future crops reached 500, 900
for the summer of 1919. Such i'm
provements will be doubled the coming
year. Proportionate OUTLAWS are being
made by shipping associations. The
Apple Growers Association, which will
ship 100000 boxes of the 1919
tonnage of apples, and other shipping
concerns have made heavy improve
ments. The Association, sensing the
need for additional storage property in
acreage and is making ready for future
/ building.
An encouraging feature Of Hood
Rivers prosperity is that it has not
brought in its wake anything like the
sensational boom that heralded apple
and fruit profits in earlier days when
fruitgrowers were tasting their first
success. 1t is true that prices have
advanced materially for commercial
fruit acreage in the past two years.
but one does not hear of the phenom-
enal prices that were formerly paid by
spectators. Orchard land of the best
quality is considered worth 1000 an
acre by the man who intends to follow
horticulture as business. Purchases
of local acreage the past year have
been heavier than since 1910 or 1911,
but rs per cent of the buyers have
hoeo eypovienced orrhp yd;ata huyi n o