Page 6 



BETTER FRUIT 



May, ipip 



writer has shipped these berries as far 

 cast as New York City by open express 

 :!n(l liad them arrive in fine condition, 

 'i'lu' other Nortliwcst berries of this 

 variety are also good shippers. 



The profit from an acre of strawber- 

 ries depends, of course, upon the yield 

 and also to some extent on the location 

 and climatic conditions, as the early 

 berries bring the best price. The earli- 

 est berries in the Northwest are those 

 raised at Kenncwick and the next 

 earliest are those grown in the Hood 

 I^iver Valley. These early berries fre- 

 (juently sell for f8 to ^\2 per crate, 

 while the late berries average in the 

 neighborhood of $2 to $2.25. The yield 

 runs from 100 to as high as 300 crates 

 per acre, depending largely upon the 

 condition the soil was in when it was 

 set to plants, and also the care they 

 received after planting. Probably a 

 fair average yield would be 150 crates 

 per acre. During the last two years the 

 price has averaged high and the indi- 

 cations this year are that they will 

 bring a record-breaking price. 



The proper \v.iy of slartiiiK to p:u-k a l)o\ ol iii-iiics. Sorting out flic culls. 



a good growth during the fall months 

 and the following spring could be ex- 

 pected to turn off a very nice yield — 

 from 75 to 100 crates an acre. 



Profits in Berry Growing 



The soil of several sections of the 

 Northwest is particularly adapted to 

 the successful growing of strawberries, 



the most notable perhaps being that of 

 the Hood River Valley in Oregon, and 

 Kennewick. Washington, and some of 

 the other districts in the latter state. 

 The variety grown at Hood River is the 

 Clark Seedling, and as a shipper this 

 berry has no equal. The Clark Seed- 

 ling has been grown in the Hood River 

 Valley for over forty >ears, and the 



According to the Evaporator prunes 

 and apricots thus far appear to be the 

 only dried fruit for which the unusual 

 European demand has arisen. Raisins 

 and pears are practically dead letters in 

 this burst of speed in the late-season 

 market. 



The government demands elaborate 

 packing of dried fruits for overseas 

 shipment. All cases must be bound 

 with iron and marked on all four sides 

 and end with a quartermaster's stamp. 



Possible Cause of "Sour Sap" in the Pacific Northwest 







By A. B. Cordley, Director Oregon Agricultural College Experiment Station 



NE of the most important patho- to date, not less than twenty-five to 

 logical conditions of fruit trees in thirty thousand dollars. Many thou- 

 the humid sections of the Pacific sand acres of orchard have suffered in 



Northwest is commonly known as 

 "winter kill" or "sour sap." The nature 

 of the injury and the time at which it 

 occurs suggests the designation "spring 

 injury." 



Spring injury occurs throughout the 

 humid sections of the Pacific North- 

 west at least. I have had it under 

 casual observation for many years and 

 have personally noted it as far south 

 as Grants Pass and as far north as one 

 hundred miles north of Victoria, B. C. 

 The extent and importance of the in- 

 jury varies with the locality and the 

 season; but nearly every year — if not 

 every year — the injury is serious in 

 some or all parts of the territory men- 

 tioned. Its importance is indicated by 

 the fact that last spring a seventy-acre 

 pear orchard loaded with fruit spurs 

 and with a ten to fifteen thousand dol- 

 lar croj) in sight, was so badly injured 

 that less than three hundred bushels of 

 fruit were sold. Moreover, the entire 

 orchard, which should be worth six or 

 seven hundred dollars per acre, has 

 been so impaired by several attacks of 

 spring injury that it is now, when ten 

 years of age, inventoried by the owners 

 at two hundred and fifty dollars per 

 acre. The loss in value of crop and of 

 orchard in this one instance has been. 



like degree. 



Spring injury is most serious in 

 orchards planted upon heavy clay or 

 clay loam soil, with poor air and water 

 drainage, but it may be serious in 

 orchards planted on thin or gravelly 

 soils upon hillsides, especially if there 

 is a gravel subsoil and where both air 

 and water drainage are excellent. A 

 particularly discouraging characteristic 

 of the disease is that frequently the 

 largest, most vigorous and evidently 

 most healthy trees suffer the most 

 serious injury. Another characteristic 

 is that the greatest injury occurs dur- 

 ing the periods of greatest vegetative 

 activity in the life of the tree, viz., from 

 a short time before the blossoming 

 period to three or four weeks after; 

 and during the first ten or fifteen years 

 of its life. 



The first indication of injury is a 

 slight discoloration of the cambium. 

 With eontinue<l unfavorable conditions 

 this discoloration becomes more and 

 more noticeable; the tree, though it may 

 bloom profusely, fails to set fruit, the 

 leaves may wither and fall, twigs or 

 branches may die, and even the entire 

 tree may be killed to the ground. In 

 older trees the only indication of in- 

 jury may be a partial or total failure 



to set fruit, although the tree may 

 bloom profusely. 



Several theories have been advanced 

 to account for "spring injury." The 

 fact that it is most serious to trees 

 growing in heavy, poorly drained clay 

 soils has led to the very common belief 

 that the roots have in some manner 

 been injured by excess of water or by 

 a deficiency of available oxygen. That 

 this is not a satisfactory explanation is 

 indicated by the fact that the injury 

 may occur upon well drained hillsides 

 and by the vigorous growth which usu- 

 ally follows the return of favorable 

 weather conditions. 



The theory of "frost injury" has also 

 been advanced to account for "spring 

 injury." To my mind it is not satis- 

 factory, although frost may be, in ex- 

 ceptional cases, a contributing factor. 

 Serious spring injury certainly occurs 

 when it could not possibly be due to 

 frost injury; and even in those cases 

 where frost injury might be considered 

 a contributing factor the injury is much 

 more serious than would be caused by 

 even lower temperatures outside the 

 humid belt. For instance, the pear 

 crop was ruined, a large portion of the 

 trees were injured and many trees 

 were killed to the ground last spring in 

 the Corvallis Orchard Company's or- 

 chard. Unfortunately no records of 



Continued on page 30. 



