THE PRUNE A survey of the prune orchards of the state will show that those growers who practice early, thorough tillage, have the best production. Too many growers still delay their tillage until May, or even late June. Such a practice will lead gradually to devitalization of the tree, and to the production of small prunes. Prune growers have been using fertilizers very vigorously. It is being observed that those growers who used nitrogenous fertilizers, either singly, as nitrate of soda, and manure, or in combinations where nitrogen is the principal ingredient, are getting the best results. While much can be said against the use of mixed fertilizers, in the way of economy, it is noted with interest that the past year or two, however, such companies are offering fertilizers which are rich in nitrogen. Up to a year or two ago, these fertilizers were generally low in nitrogen, and rich in phosphoric acid and potash, two elements which seemingly give us very little response. We caution growers, however, that a certain amount of nitrogen is a good thing, but that any good thing can be overdone. If the trees are already making good wood growth, have large green leaves and are producing large prunes, there is nothing to be gained by piling on an excess of nitrogen. But there are thousands of acres of trees, making little or no wood growth, having weak buds, and producing small fruit, that need nitrogen and need it liberally. This past season has demonstrated conclusively that had we had a dry season similar to 1918, which was 40 days in extent, we would have been facing a crop of 60,000,000 to 80,000,000 pounds of prunes; that within two years we can expect a crop of approximately 100,000,000 pounds of prunes. It doesn't take a mathematician long to figure that we do not have near enough driers to handle such a crop, and that one of the needs of the State is to build a large number of driers in the next two years; and let us urge every man who builds a drier to immediately take out good insurance on the same and to also cover the prunes as fast as they are dried. If he cares to, he can get daily adjustments on the tonnage in his plant, and while we admit the rates are high, still the annual losses demonstrate that these rates are warranted. Perhaps if we will all begin to insure carefully, we can gradually reduce the rates. One of the most interesting developments in our prune business is the bringing out of new varieties and strains. At Forest Grove we find Mr. Rueter with a strain of Italian which matures a couple of weeks ahead of the regular strain. At Riddle we find Mr. Wilson with an Italian which blooms two weeks later, thus escaping the frost and yet which matures its fruit at the normal season. We find Mr. Johns at Myrtle Creek with several strains of Petites. We find Mr. Vercler introducing to the State a new prune, a cross between the Italian and the Petite. This prune has been called the New Oregon. We find Californians much stirred over Leonard Coats' production known as 1418, which is a strain of Petite. It is refreshing to find here and there a man who is still interested in plant breeding, such as A. A. Piper, of Myrtle Creek. Mr. Piper has two very interesting prunes, one a cross with the peach plum, the other, a cross between the Italian and Petite. They are both worth watching. Mr. Piper also has a new blackberry, has by artificial crossing reproduced the loganberry, has several strains of strawberries, and has a new sweet apple maturing in the fall, and a new pear, both of which have much merit. We need to read again the works of our pioneers in horticulture, such as the Llewellyns, Lambert, and Hoskins, Dr. Cardwell, and others, and get an inspiration from these men to try and reproduce some of the work which they have done. When we think of the Bing and Lambert cherry and realize the wonderful opportunities for plant breeding in this state, we wonder why more men do not adopt this as a hobby to employ all their spare moments. Oregon should contribute in the next fifty years the world's choicest varieties of fruits. Sig 4. THE LOGANBERRY While the loganberry will grow in a wide range of soils, we are beginning to realize more and more the necessity of feeding this plant. The average yield is probably not far from two and a half tons, but we find patches which will run five, six, and occasionally the unheard-of yield of seven tons. These heavy yields are on good soils, are on locations where the grower is feeding the ground artificially. Loganberries must be put on well drained soil, must have thorough drainage, and must have plenty of food, especially that nitrogenous in nature. The crown borer is beginning to get bad in many portions of the state, and growers should keep in touch with entomologists at the Oregon Agricultural College and control this pest. Many of the new plants set out last spring died. This was due to two reasons: first, the hard winter; and second, too late tipping. September is seemingly the best month in the year to tip loganberries. Some growers can tip the loganberry to advantage before they dry prunes. Plants tipped in late November or December do not have the opportunity to form as good a root system and develop as vigorous a plant as those tipped earlier. In conclusion, we want to urge upon the growers of the state to practice diversity. Not diversity for mere diversity's sake, but diversity with a resolution that everything we produce will be produced well. But let us not put all our eggs in one basket. A ranch which has four or five kinds of fruit to sell is on a sounder financial basis than one which has only one variety of fruit. While the man growing one variety may produce a higher grade, this is not necessarily so. He is, nevertheless, in a weak position, should a slump come in his line of fruit over a period of several years. OREGON'S SWEET CHERRIES HAVE WON FAME By L. T. Reynolds While nearly all varieties of deciduous fruits are successfully grown in Oregon, the sweet cherry is particularly a Pacific Coast fruit, and several of the most valuable varieties were originated in this state. Though grown in all parts of the state, the commercial cherry orchards are principally located in the Willamette Valley and in regions about The Dalles and Cove, in Eastern Oregon. The commercial orchards are all of the large, sweet cherries, such as are not grown very extensively outside the Pacific Coast states. The three varieties most grown are the Royal Anne, or Napoleon Bigarreau; the Bing and the Lambert. The Bing is a large, firm, black cherry of fine quality, especially valued east of the Cascades for its splendid shipping qualities, and is chiefly grown for marketing in the fresh state. The Lambert, a beautiful, large, mahogany-colored cherry, is a great favorite in the Willamette Valley, and is grown both for shipping fresh and for canning. Both the Bing and the Lambert were originated in the Willamette Valley. They are unusually large and firm, standing shipment to any part of the United States. Their large size, beautiful color and unsurpassed flavor make them in demand whenever they are in the market. The canned Lambert cherry is considered by many to be the best flavored canned cherry, and were the canneries to advertise this variety with special labels, as is done with the Royal Anne, a special demand for this variety might soon be created. The Royal Anne, a large, light colored cherry, is the best known cherry in the canned cherry trade, and is more extensively grown for canning than any other. It is not a very good shipper, as the least bruise soon shows a discolored spot on account of its light color. There are large canneries located in Portland, Salem and Eugene, with smaller canneries in a number of other towns of the State. In all of these the cherry pack is one of their principal products, and many carloads of this delicious canned fruit is shipped from the State each year. The Royal Anne is also barreled in large quantities for Maraschino purposes. These cherries are packed in barrels while fresh, covered with a brine and shipped to factories, where they are manufactured into various confections. COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS LARGE While the acreage in cherry trees does not compare with that in prunes or apples, yet there are a number of large commercial orchards and numerous smaller plantations. When the season is favorable the owners of dooryard trees also reap quite a harvest, and many city houseowners may be seen harvesting their cherry crop from two or three trees and taking it to the cannery, and a few large cherry trees on a city lot have sometimes almost paid the rent for the place for the year. The crop for 1919 was light, yet there was produced and marketed 3,000 tons. Of this amount 1,000 tons were either canned or barreled in the plants at Salem, the Salem Fruit Union, The Hunt Brothers' Cannery and the Oregon Packing Company each packing about 250 tons of the fresh cherries. During the past few years a large number of trees have been planted and the crop will normally continue to increase in quantity for several years. After reaching ten years of age the trees increase in their bearing capacity very rapidly, and the possible cherry crop of the state five years from now should be multiplied many times over the present bearing capacity of the trees. Though more difficult to grow than some other varieties of fruit trees during the earlier years, after reaching ten years of age the cherry is not more subject to disease than other fruit trees. Owners having cherry orchards in suitable locations have usually found them very profitable, and the grower with a small orchard finds an added advantage in that the harvest comes much earlier in the season than his other fruits, bringing in an early cash return, as well as extending his period of harvest. The canning price for Royal Annes for many years remained at about 5 cents per pound, but during the past few seasons the grower has received from 8 to 102 cents per pound, and if yields were good, the crop has proved very profitable. Soil and location have much to do with the success of a cherry plantation and the intending planter should consult with practical growers before starting a young cherry orchard. The cherry crop for the season of 1920 was somewhat unusual, since in some districts the crop was very light, while in other districts full crops were harvested. The total crop of the state probably did not differ greatly from the production of the year 1919, or between 2,500 and 3,000 tons. A large portion of the crop was, as usual, used by the canneries, while smaller quantities were barreled, evaporated or shipped in the fresh state. The price to the grower was unusually good, the bulk of the crop having been sold at about 13 cents per pound. This price, together with good yields, resulted in splendid returns to many of the growers. I quote the returns reported received by a few individuals in order to illustrate the possible income from a small cherry orchard. From one small plot of fifteen trees the producer received from the cannery a check for more than $300. Another, owner of six acres in cherries, received for the crop $5,750, while the owner of a ten acre cherry orchard sold therefrom last season a crop amounting to $8,000. These are only a few illustrations of the returns received by some of our cherry growers. Pickers also received excellent pay for their labor, industrious pickers earning as much as $6 to $10 per day. |