Page 10 



BETTER FRUIT 



HJB 



^X^e mzike 



mm 



Labels 



with a puirpos'( 



■'K'JA-.'.. 



PROPERtY AmniCALlY 

 PtANKED EXECUTED 



appealing v^cimes 

 that attract the 

 con^umeif attention 

 and remain ax a 

 symbol 0/ your 

 frtiiti' quality lon^ 

 nfier it if eaten 



' Se/id/orrama/er - /Apy (c/{ i/te rfory 



mm 



' . . 





•W 



Ma\n 0/Tic<? 



VmafmWvl^^^mi 



!chmidt 



.UTHD. 

 \CD./ 



^50] 



ami^ci^CQ 



^ - „ ^. 1* 1 



Honolulu 



^§l^^^^^^sss^^^^^^ 





prematurely or iniiiiaturcly - ripened 

 prunes can be laid to this damage? It 

 is apparent tliat such decrease in the 

 sap supply during the growing season 

 must affect both the present crop and 

 the actual strength or vitality of the 

 tree, which by weakening the buds for 

 the coming season may be responsible 

 for much of the failure to set fruit, to 

 withstand rains and light frosts and to 

 resist the varying influences of the 

 weather, such as the dry spell during 

 the season of 1918. It is a common 

 observation among prune growers that 

 some trees better resist these condi- 

 tions and, regardless of the seasonal 

 set-backs, manage to mature a heavy 

 crop of large prunes in which, of 

 course, lies the profit. Trees which for 

 one reason or another are simply able 

 to keep the life forces going without 

 producing large crops, are certainly of 

 no more value to the orchardist than 

 the "star boarder" is to the dairyman. 



While many growers have a patent 

 nostrum or supposed cure for the 

 Prune Root Borer, the fact remains 

 that, to date, there has not been found 

 a reliable, practical, economical rem- 

 edy. Investigators have worked on it 



from time to time but have given up 

 the task after a short period. Due to its 

 habits of life, this pest presents diffi- 

 culties in the way of its control that 

 have not yet been overcome. Many 

 thousands of dollars have been spent 

 by the prune growers in tar, asphalt 

 and in various protectors without any 

 very evident results, aside from dis- 

 couragement. The only remedy remain- 

 ing of value seems to be the old stand- 

 ard one of digging out with a knife, 

 which is laborious, inefficient and, 

 very often, more destructive to the tree 

 than the ravages of the borer itself. 



We estimate a loss from death of 

 trees, lowering of the vitality and 

 money spent on remedies, at no less 

 than $100,000 for Douglas County alone 

 in a vear. The Experiment Station at 

 Corvallis has taken up this problem in 

 earnest and it is to be hoped that some 

 solution may be discovered which will 

 relieve the prune industry of this 

 heavy toll. 



It is open knowledge that the average 

 prune orchard in Oregon is not given 

 the care and attention that its return 

 on the investment demands. The young 

 trees are looked after fairly well, but 



March 



as soon as they begin to produce prunes 

 many growers seem to be of the opin- 

 ion that their interest in the matter has 

 ended and that the orchard will take 

 care of itself from then on, aside from 

 an accosional cultivation and spraying. 

 Our figures indicate that, with the .soil 

 factor considered, the average orchard 

 will produce in proportion to the con- 

 dition it is kept in by its owner. Cer- 

 tainly the high producing orchards, 

 \ car in and year out, arc the best cared 

 for orchards. The prune responds to 

 attention more than most species. 

 Some tracts manifest resentment at 

 neglect in their dilapidated appearance, 

 and even more in the poor returns they 

 grudgingly yield, while others respond- 

 ing to care, attractive, well groomed 

 and vigorous, return thanks to their 

 owners in prodigal harvests. 



The mossy, brushy, no-growth or- 

 chard is not a money maker, even in 

 these days of prosperity in the prune 

 business." Fifty per cent of the prunes 

 are found on the two and three-year- 

 old wood. Where pruning, spraying or 

 early, level and continual cultivation 

 can remedy the slothful habits of an 

 orchard we have no suggestions to 

 make, since there is no excuse for such 

 a condition. But where a failure to 

 grow healthy, strong, new wood or to 

 set and mature a heavy annual crop of 

 fruit is due to lack of humus, nitrogen 

 or moisture in the soil we are hopeful 

 that certain practices may be put into 

 effect which will convert many of 

 these old orchards over into the profit 

 column, or, in other words, will tend 

 to stay the hand of old age. 



Western Oregon and Washington are 

 not in the so-called irrigation belt, yet, 

 as is well known to every farmer, there 

 are seasons when unusual weather 

 conditions prevail during the growing 

 period which makes this country sim- 

 ilar to semi-arid regions where the lack 

 of sufficient moisture must be supplied 

 artificially. The season of 1918 was 

 very dry^ and in Douglas County the 

 orchards suffered greatly for water 

 where, had an emergency irrigation 

 been present, the yield would have 

 been much greater. In other words, 

 while irrigation is not necessary under 

 normal conditions there are times 

 when it would have paid for itself 

 many times over, and growers in this 

 county, recognizing this, who happen 

 to be situated along the river bottoms, 

 are prepairing to install irrigation sys- 

 tems. Since many of these men have 

 already added tractors to their orchard 

 equipment, and these can be utilized as 

 source of power, the cost of installa- 

 tion will not be great. The entire out- 

 fit, counting pump, pipe and flumes, 

 aside from the tractor, cost one grower 

 less than $400, which irrigated more 

 than fifteen acres and had a capacity 

 sufficient to water much more acreage. 

 He estimated that this initial cost was 

 more than returned by the increased 

 size of the prunes in one season, in 

 addition to which he had to his credit 

 stronger fruit buds and new growth 

 which will return a profit the next 

 year Wliere the moisture condition is 

 the health-limiting factor it is possible 



Continued on page 38. 



