20 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



1904. 



Primes, 1,250,000 pounds at 314 cents $ 40,000 



Apples 90,000 



Pears 20,000 



Cherries 30,000 



Peaches 20,000 



Blackberries 30,000 



Strawberries 90,000 



Grapes 35,000 



Raspberries 8,000 



Gooseberries 6.000 



Currants 6,000 



Other fruits 10,000 



Total $385,000 



The principal shortage from the yield of 1904 was in the prune- 

 crop, which M'as only one-fourth or one-fifth of a normal yield. 

 Most of the valley orchards, or those on the lower elevation of hills, 

 comprising much the greater part of the acreage of the district,, 

 were practically a failure. In only a very few w^ere there enough 

 prunes to warrant picking at all. In most of the hill orchards 

 there was a fair crop, in some a very heavy one. Quality and size 

 M^ere good. As a general rule, prune orchards in the hills at an 

 elevation of from 400 to 1,000 feet or over bear regular and good 

 crops when well cared for. Valley orchards usually miss about 

 one year in three on account of frost. But the valley crop when 

 secured is usually heavier, sweeter, and runs to larger sizes, thus 

 atoning slightly for the discrepancy in yield. Prune prices have- 

 been low for two or three years, so low that there is little or na 

 profit in it at present, but the "Oregon" or Italian pnine is con- 

 stantly winning friends in the market, and will undoubtedly rise- 

 in price in the near future to a point when it is again profitable. 

 For years past the Santa Clara prime has sold in the market at 

 from 14 to 1 cent per pound more than the Italian, but such is no 

 longer the case; they are now on an equality, with the odds, if any, 

 in favor of the Oregon Italian. 



The strawberry crop, which is of great importance in the dis- 

 trict, was also cut short of a normal yield by the hot, dry weather 



