REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 49 



the different counties as follows : Lincoln, one hundred and 

 twenty acres ; Linn, six hundred and eighty acres ; Polk, 

 seven hundred and eighty-five acres ; Lane, nine hundred 

 and eighty-four acres ; Benton, nine hundred and ninety-four 

 acres ; Marion, two thousand two hundred and seventy-hve 

 acres ; the total being five thousand eight hundred and thirty- 

 eight acres. Of the fruits grown in the second district the 

 prune is far in tlie lead as regards acreage, occupying four- 

 hfths of the whole orcluird acreage of the district. Apples 

 comprise one-tenth (not including old orchards) , pears one- 

 fifteenth, and cherries about one-thirtieth. 



When one considers the area susceptible to fruit culture in 

 this valley, it is seen that a very small part of the available 

 land is devoted to orcliards. There are over ei^ht million 

 seven hundred thousand acres in the district, of wiiich it is 

 estimated that five per cent, would be adapted to fruit culture, 

 or about four hundred and thirty-five thousand acres. Allow- 

 ing eight . thousand acres for old orchards and home fruit 

 gardens, not included in our summary of the fruit acreage of 

 the district, would give us a total of twenty thousand acres 

 now used for orchard purposes, leaving four liundred and 

 fifteen thousand acres still available for fruit. This calcula- 

 tion assumes that the present orchards are on land adapted 

 to fruits. As a matter of fact, however, nearly ten per cent, 

 of the fruit trees have been planted on land entirely unsuitable 

 for orchard purposes and will never be profitable. This, to 

 some extent, accounts for the poor condition of many planta- 

 tions. Planted on thin, poorly drained soil the trees make a 

 desperate struggle for existence for a few years. Many suc- 

 cumb to the first severe frost, others are drowned in the wet 

 soil, the orchard soon presents a ragged, sickly appearance 

 and the owner concludes that fruits are unprofitable, w^hen a 

 little common sense would have shown him that his trees 

 could not live on wet, white land. 



While many orchards have been damaged by weather con- 

 ditions which could not be controlled, yet progressive fruit- 

 growers are everywhere getting their plantations into the 

 best possible shape, realizing that it is only through carefully 

 planned and thoroughly executed work that their orchards 

 can be made profitable. Growers are purposing a more 

 thorough campaign against the codling moth during the 

 coming season than has ever been made in this valley, and 

 increased interest is shown in methods of cultivation, pruning 

 and fertilization. Orchardists have gained in the knowledge 



