Report of State Board of Horticulture. 29 



market and consequent loss and discouragement. There i» 

 room for great expansion of the canning industry in the 

 Willamette Valley. Nowhere in the world do finer straw^ber- 

 ries, blackberries, raspberries, etc., grow. Every requisite i& 

 at hand save the necessary energy to develop the industry. 

 The canneries already in operation have proven that we can 

 and do produce the very finest grade of canned fruits. 



It is encouraging to note that the strawberry growers of 

 Salem are attempting to form a union similar to that of Hood 

 River, and it is to be hoped they will be as successful. New- 

 berg and Canby are two points in my district most excellently 

 adapted to the growing of strawberries. They are already 

 grown at both these points in considerable quantities, and a 

 steadily increasing acreage should soon be followed by forma- 

 tion of a union, and then the building of a cannery. For, 

 though there may and probably always will be times of depres- 

 sion and loss in the fresh fruit market, the fruit can ahvays be 

 canned, jammed, or preserved and sold at a fair profit. Jams 

 and jellies from California and from England are constantly on 

 sale in our markets. To my mind here is the most jDromising 

 field for development of the fruit industry in Oregon at the 

 present time. 



The prune drying season is just drawing to a close and the 

 crop now saved is the largest on record, though it is yet too 

 early to obtain accurate figures of the total yield. I estimate 

 the crop of my district at from 225 to 250 cars, almost entirely 

 Italian ; but very few Petites have been dried this year ; they 

 have become so small as to be worthless. The new Sugar 

 prune is promising, and Petites may be grafted to that variety. 

 At present prices for prunes are veiy low, but it is to be hoped 

 that the market will rally and at least fair prices be secured. 



The apple crop is short and prices for choice stock are very 

 high. While the codling moth has been prevalent as usual, 

 there seems to have been less trouble than usual with scab 

 and bitter rot. 



The nurseries are in excellent condition, and report active 

 demand for trees, particularly apple and cherry. 



On the whole, conditions are encouraging and the prospect 

 bright. 



WILBUR K. NEWELL. 



