16 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



largely on that account. Peach growers must thin their fruit 

 more carefully in years of heavy crop. With the immense 

 number of peach trees being planted growers will in the near 

 future be compelled to make Provision for canning and drying 

 a large percentage of the crop. Dried peaches are in good 

 demand and at fair prices and a reasonable profit can be made 

 in disposing of the crop in this manner. 



The pear crop was about the same as that of last year, f rosts 

 having done some damage at blossoming time. All fruits have 

 ripened early this season and for that reason the Bartlett pears 

 from Oregon crowded the California crop very closely in the 

 eastern markets and did not bring quite the prices they should 

 have done. Still, prices were very attractive and leave a hand- 

 some margin of profit to the grower. Comice, Anjou, and 

 Winter Nelis pears brought fancy prices, 



The season was an exceptionally favorable one for grapes 

 and the crop was the largest and finest ever produced. The 

 grape sections of Eastern and Southern Oregon sent in fruit 

 of the California varieties that surpass anything that Cali- 

 fornia has sent to our markets, while Willamette Valley points 

 supplied local and Puget Sound markets with the finest kind of 

 Concords, Niagaras, etc. 



The fruit crop of Oregon should double every two years in 

 the near future and our problem is now principally one of 

 proper distribution. Gratifying progress is being made in the 

 enlargement of work of the fruit growers' unions. The Rogue 

 River growers have Consolidated all their local unions with 

 headquarters at Medford, and for the first time the Umpqua 

 Valley growers have succeeded in handling large lots of pears 

 and apples for eastern shipment. The Hood River union con- 

 tinues its good work by again making the best sales of apples 

 reported from any point in the Northwest. The Milton- 

 Freewater growers have made a splendid success of the work 

 of their union for the season. The Lane County growers have 

 enlarged their capital stock and have taken over the local can- 

 nery and evaporating plant and are now splendidly equipped 

 for business and are doing plenty of it. The Salem growers 

 have built a large prune-packing plant in addition to their 

 packing house for fresh fruits. They have again shipped fresh 

 prunes to eastern markets with good success, and also handled 

 a number of cars of Gravenstein apples. 



This work of Organization must continue until we have a 

 local union in every fruit-producing locality and a central sell- 

 ing agency for all the unions. 



