Appendix. 208 



to give us the principal mineral constituents of both tree and fruit. He 

 will take an apple, burn it to an ash, analyze the ash and tell us that it 

 contains: 



Potash 35.68 parts 



Soda 26.09 parts 



Phosphoric acid 13.59 parts 



Sulphuric acid 6 to 9 parts 



He will then analyze the ash of the tree with about the following re- 

 sult: 



Potash 19.24 parts 



Soda 23.60 parts 



Phosphoric and sulphuric acid 18 to 19 parts 



It has been demonstrated that the soils of the Willamette valley are 

 not rich in all these elements of fruit production. Yet for thirty, and 

 even forty years we have made continuous requisitions upon them until 

 even mother nature enters a protest at our over-drawn account in the 

 shape of unthrifty trees and inferior fruit. 



WILL IT PAY TO RENOVATE? 



Can we renovate these orchards? To a certain extent, yes, by returning 

 to the soil what we have taken from it; by cultivation, judicious pruning 

 and thorough spraying. I doubt, however, if it is the better plan. What 

 is wanted is virgin soil, a new generation of trees, and, pardon me, I 

 came near saying, a new generation of growers, for the moss in some in- 

 stances is not, I fear, all on the trees. We can grow good fruit again in 

 this valley, but it will require infinitely more labor. Vigilant, intelli- 

 gent and energetic action is the prerequisite of successful horticulture 

 today, and to succeed you must center your principal interest in your 

 orchard and not make it an adjunct of some other business. Practice 

 modern methods and care for your trees as they do in the great orchards 

 of Jackson county and other portions of the state, and you will find that 

 the climate has not changed and that the fruit is as beautiful as in the 

 olden time. Do you plead that aphides and pernicious scales suck the 

 juices of root and branch, requiring ceaseless warfare on your part? 

 Then I do not hesitate to say that unto man has been given dominion 

 over all these and that he shall prevail. Man amounts to but little 

 without a fight, and we only secure the most valuable things in this 

 world through greatest effort. 



A HOPE-INSPIRING FORECAST. 



Where is the land that affords so great a proportionate area for horti- 

 cultural pursuits as this magnificent valley? There is not an acre in it of 

 well drained soil but what will grow an orchard unless it has been badly 

 farmed. I often cast my eyes longingly to the foot hills and to the 

 timbered mountain slopes and benches that enclose this valley, and it 

 requires no gift of prophecy to say that eventually your most valuable 

 apple orchards will be found five hundred, one thousand, two thousand 

 feet above the valley, and from these higher elevations your longest- 

 keeping apples will come. 



