IQl6 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page ig 



"CROWN" 



The Name that Stands for Safe, Simple, Efficient Pressure Regulation 

 "Crown" Relief Valves and "Crown" Pressure Regulatiors 



This cut shows the CROWN RELIEF VALVE, the result of years of study and intimate connection with the whole 

 spraying machine problem. Eliminates the trouble features of the ordinary relief valve. Cannot clog and be held open, 

 allowing the pressure to run down. No ground valve seats to be cut out, necessitating re-gringing. Only an inexpensive 

 rubber cup or gasket to replace. An extra cup packed with each valve. Myers, Decker, Hayes, Ward, Detning and 

 many other spraying machine manufacturers use CROWN RELIEF VALVES. Write for pamphlet. 



Look in next issue for our ad on Pressure Regulators 



CROWN SPECIALTY CO., 1629 Washington Boul., Chicago, 111. Tr?!?.! 



$4.00 



Diversity of Fruit Growing 



Professor C. I. Le\vis, Chief Division of Horticulture, Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, before the Oregon State Horticultural Society. 



WE have recently completed a 

 study of the cost of production 

 of apples in a thousand orchards 

 in the Pacific Northwest. In making 

 this study, we gave special attention to 

 the subject of the possibilities of diver- 

 sifying the fruitgrower's interest. We 

 realize that the production problem 

 simmers itself down quite largely to 

 the proper utilization of labor and 

 teams and the maintenance of an acre- 

 age which guarantees cheap produc- 

 tion. The amount of diversification 

 that a man can undertake depends very 

 largely upon the acreage of fruit which 

 he maintains and the amount of capital, 

 time and general facilities at his dis- 

 posal for other lines of endeavor. Pos- 

 sibly, the best form of diversification 

 for the fruitgrower is to diversify more 

 in his own line. Namely, instead of 

 devoting his entire attention to the pro- 

 duction of one type of fruit, such as 

 apples, or walnuts, it would be better 

 that he grow a number of types, thus 

 distributing his labor and bringing in 

 cash incomes at various seasons, and 

 eliminating to a certain degree the pos- 

 sibilily of lean years. For example, in 

 the Willamette S'alley, if he has a prune 

 evaporator, blackcaj) raspberries or 

 loganberries, prunes and English wal- 

 nuts could all be dried in the same 

 building and would not interfere with 

 each other. For the slack time which 

 would come in August, he could have 

 Bartlett pears raised for the cannery, 

 or he could take such a combination as 

 berries, prunes, apples or walnids. In 

 a section like Hood River one could 

 grow such crops as strawberries, cane 

 fruits, cherries, pears and apples. For 

 The Dalles, early berries, cherries, 

 peaches, apricots, green iirunes, grapes 

 and some truck-garden crops. For the 

 Frcewater-Milton district, dewberries, 

 strawberries, early garden-truck crops, 

 peaches, green prunes and apples. 

 These are merely some of the crops to 

 raise. Others could be raised, and we 

 could work them out for different sec- 

 tions of the Northwest. 



To the fruit grower who contem- 

 plates taking up general agriciillure in 

 connection with fruit growing, I would 



warn him against overdoing this propo- 

 sition, for, unless he makes a careful 

 study of the proposition and is a good 

 business man, he will only lose money, 

 rather than add to his receipts. The 

 great danger to a man who goes into 

 general farming and at the same time 

 attempts the production of fruit, is that 

 his fruit will be of very poor quality. 

 Often Western people point to the 

 diversity of certain Eastern fruitgrow- 

 ers, but they fail to remember thai 

 these same Eastern fruitgrowers pro- 

 duce very ordinary fruit — fruit that 

 would not pay a Western fruitgrower 

 to pay the freight on. It is very 

 doubtful if, on high-priced land, there 

 is a single agricultural production 

 that will pay belter than fruit prop- 

 erly grown, and the man contem- 

 plating diversification needs to give 

 a little attention to the question of 

 cheap production and efTicient busi- 

 ness management. On the other hand, 

 the general farmer should go into fruit 

 growing cautiously. There are some 

 exceptions, however. The prune, for 

 example, can be grown very nicely by 

 the every-day fariuer and is today the 

 best cash crop on a large percentage 

 of the farms in the Willamette and 

 Umpqua Valleys. The longanberry is 

 another crop which the dairyman or 

 general farmer can grow in conneclion 

 with other crops, and the English wal- 

 nut oilers a fair field. Occasionally we 

 find a man handling peaches and can- 

 nin.g jjears successfully, but there are 

 very few general farmers who make a 

 success of apples, iicars and sweet 

 berries. F>ery orchardist should at- 

 tempt to produce as large a percentage 

 as possible of food consumed on his 

 ranch. This means he should keep a 

 good family cow, at least one iiig, a 

 small (lock of chickens, and should 

 mainlain a good garden in which will 

 be found abundant suppiles of aspara- 

 gus, iluibarb, small fruits, potatoes and 

 seasonable vegetables. From such a 

 combination he ought to be able lo sell 

 a considerable excess to advanlagc. 



We will now consider the various 

 opportunities for diversification, and 

 Ihe lirst we will consinder is that of 



forage crops in irrigated sections. For 

 example, clover and alfalfa and sim- 

 ilar crops can be easily grown in the 

 mature orchards. Our survey, how- 

 ever, points out that when these crops 

 are produced as hay, very little money 

 can be made, and that the most money 

 from these crops is realized when they 

 can be pastured by such animals as 

 hogs or sheep. Sections fortunately 

 situated near good markets can engage 

 to a limited extent in the production of 

 high-grade truck-garden crops. How- 

 ever, the market is limited and it is 

 only occasionally where one can realize 

 money under conditions where it is 

 necessary lo employ jjraclically all the 

 hand labor. F^or irrigated districts, the 

 strawberry has shown itself to be the 

 best money producer. We must admit 

 that sometimes it is a little hard on 

 the trees, but there are many fruit- 

 growing sections that would be better 

 off if they always reserved a portion 

 of their land for the production of such 

 fruits as the strawberry. The potato 

 on the whole has not been very profit- 

 able. Occasionally an orchardist makes 

 money, but more of them lose. In only 

 a small proportion of the orchards do 

 we have the right combination of soil 

 and climate for good i)otato produc- 

 tion. A few growers producing seed 

 ]3otatoes have made money. Some of 

 the men in the Grand Ronde Valley 

 have done well in this way. It is very 

 rarely that gi'ain or grain hay can be 

 grown profilably among fruit trees. 



WANTED 



Position as Horticulturist by practical 

 expert with years of experience. College 

 graduate. Can give very good recommed- 

 ations. Address S. N. L., care of "Better 

 Fruit." 



Conkey Says:— Don't Worry 



White Diarrhea is the springtime terror 

 but you can save your chicks with Con- 

 key 'sWhiteDiarrheaRemedy,25c& 50c, 



at your dealers or postpaid. Conkry Co. 

 Cleveland, Ohio. 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



