The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-12-15
THE DECREASE IN APPLE TREES

THE DECREASE IN APPLE TREES
On the heels of the big Oregon apple
boom, which resulted in failures in
many districts unadapted to the grow
ing of fruit, one heard discussed in
nearly every hotel lobby, in stores and
office rooms the problem Of overpro-
duction of apples. The pessimists pre-
sented almost irrefutable evidence that
Oregon and Washington would soon
be growing more than enough apples
to feed the world. And there was an
other brand of pessmists, even in
those days, at least many character
lied them as knocking pessimists. who
prophesied that it would take but few
years for much of the newly planted
apple trees to revert to grain farms.
Time has proven the latter class of
pessmists as right. Travel over many
portions Of eastern Oregon and Wash
ington and note the dying. apple orch
ards. If you will go up to Dufur in
Wasco county, you will behold the evil
dences of tragedy of the Oregon ap-
pie BOOM A duplication of the Dufur
disappointment is seen at Ortley.
Even in the most tried and proven APP
pie sections, some Of the land is unfit
for commercial orchards You will
find examples of this even here in
Hood River
should be taken as an encouragement |
by the orchardist who is confident that |
he owns an orchard planted on land
adapted to fruit culture, that is, if he
is determined to pursue methods of sci
entifc cultivation.
An interesting article recently APP
peared in Successful Farming" pub
lished in Des Moines. La. This pubIi-
cation says in part
If a single decade shows decrease
of "a per cent in the number of bear
ing apple trees, how many years will
it be before no one will eat apples?
If course, the day when there will be
no apples will never come as long as
the taste of people for fruit remains
the same as today, but the fourteenth
census has some figures that ought to
be eye openers to the man with a
thought for the future. 1t is hard to
realize that today there are 1913 per
cent fewer bearing apple trees than
there were in 1910, yet according to
the 1920 census figures, it is a fact.
In 1910 there were over l5l. 900, 900
trees within the boundaries of our
United States in 1920 there were
little over ll5. 100000
And that is not all In 1910 there
were almost $4,000, 600 young apple
trees not yet bearing in 1920 there {
were few more than $1,000 600. Some I
thing certainly must have happened to
these. 1t certainly looks like someone
is going to do without apples, or pay
long price for them if they are to be \
had at all. The law of supply and de- I
mand will turn the trick one of these /
fine days in the not too distant future. :
Then the man who has the goods to !
sell will have the inside track. But t
that is for the commercial orchardist. r
The fellow | am thinking about right +
now is the man who says it is cheaper
to raise corn and buy his fruit In the /
face Of the growing scarcity Of fruit s
through lack of care Of the orchard, is "a
it? viii 1t be cheaper 10 years from
now?
All of this goes to show that the
man. who is on land really adapted to
apple growing, who will stick to it and
farm his land on scientific principles
of horticulture, will win out ultimate =
ly. Just at present. with a revival of .
commercial orcharding in the eastern
districts and those states of the Appa-
lachian mountains, where the high
lands appeal to fruit growers, the 7
planting Of new apple tracts in the
northwest presents hazards The heavy -
freights that the northwestern grower -
is forced to pay to get his product to
the great consuming centers is discour- 3
aging. Yet these eastern fruit men, '
as was shown by the disasters of last
springs freeze. are frequently stricken
with such attacks of the elements.
The blow that struck the Hood River 81
valley in 1919 was stunning. Such y
blows hit the eastern fruit grower =
more persistently than out here. lie "
gives up after so long time. AT ="
least, that has been the history of the
industry.
II the northwestern apple grower Of !.
proven districts will just stick to bis !
game and persevere in his work of -
growing the best possible tree and the
best possible fruit on that tree. his ac- 'i
.vities will show a profit. equal 10 ~
that Of most agricultural enterprise
and more than many, even though q,
some years are unpleassntly lean. p,