66 Report op State Board of Horticulture. 



Cherries and peaches gave a light crop, but growers who were 

 lucky enough to have a crop obtained good prices for them. 



The growers' great trouble this season has been inability to 

 secure help. At the present time apple growers are paying from 

 $2.50 to $3 per day for ordinary labor, and men are very scarce at 

 that high price. 



JUDD GrEER, 



Commissioner for Fifth District. 



APRIL MEETING, 1908 



To the Honorable State Board of Horticulture: 



Although the growers in this district did not receive as much as 

 they expected for their apples the past season, on account of the 

 car shortage and the panic which came just at marketing time, yet 

 they received from 40 to 50 per cent more than ever before for their 

 crops, so there is no actual reason for complaint. 



Growers are rapidly adopting modern methods in regard to 

 spra3dng and consequently are producing a better grade of fruit. 

 In years past it has seemed to be the rule to see common and wormy 

 apples in front of fruit stands and groceries, but this season it 

 has been exactly the reverse. Spraying, which is practicallv becom- 

 ing general, is doing away with worms, scale and otlier pests, but 

 the grower must not stop here. There are entirely too many of 

 the smaller, inferior grades of fruit on the market. The grower 

 must attend to the thinning of the fruit on the trees if he expects 

 to get the high grade that is possible and the quality that b^'ings 

 the grower profit. We must prune the trees so as to open them up 

 to the sunlight in order to give the fruit the color and quality 

 i-equired for first-grade fruit. 



The time is coming when Oregon will be known by its fruit a? 

 a State instead of by only a few localities. 



The number of trees which are being set is something wonderful, 

 not in just a few localities, but in every fruit-growing district in 

 Eastern Oregon. Of course we must remember that not all of 

 these trees are being planted by nersons who will make a success of 

 fruit growing, while on the other hand a great many planters are 

 scientific, up-to-date fruit growers, and all such are a benefit to the 

 fruit-growing industry of the State. 



JuDn Geer, 

 Commissioner for Fifth District. 



