330 



APPLE 



APPLE 



is applied. Every effort is made to check the growth 

 of the trees early, for when well matured they with- 

 stand severe freezing best. 



Pruning, The apple-growers of the mountain states 

 are quite unanimous in their choice of the vase-form as 

 the standard to be worked for in training apple trees. 

 While the eastern grower many justly condemn such a 

 system of training on account of limited fruiting area, 

 the objection is without merit in this region where 

 the tendency is for most varieties to overbear. In the 

 first three or four years in the orchard, the young 

 trees are severely headed-in each spring, the object 

 being to get a stocky trunk with the first scaffold limb 

 within 12 or 18 inches of the ground and three or four 

 more spaced along the trunk at intervals of 6 inches. 

 After these first three or four primings, little heading- 

 in is done until the trees begin to overbear. The trees 

 are then cut back and thinned out sufficiently to induce 

 annual bearing and the production of fruits of desir- 

 able sizes with the minimum amount of hand thinning. 

 In the commercial fruit-growing sections, the fruit is 

 systematically thinned. There is little occasion for 

 summer pruning. 



Marketing. The bulk of the apple crop of these 

 states is sold in standard apple-boxes, and much of the 

 fruit is wrapped and packed in sizes in tier packs. As 

 a rule, the fruit is marketed through cooperative fruit- 

 growers' associations, some of the oldest and most 

 successful associations in the United States being 

 found in this region. The fruit is generally distrib- 

 uted in all eastern, southern and western markets 

 where extra fancy boxed apples are in demand. 



Diseases and insects. -The apple-growers of the 

 mountain states are little troubled with fungous dis- 

 eases. During the summer season the atmosphere is 

 generally dry and the fungi apparently do not thrive. 

 In some of the more humid sections of this region, 

 especially in rainy summers, apple scab becomes 

 a serious menace. It is easily controlled, however, 

 with the lime-sulfur sprays. Over the entire region, 

 pear blight has attacked some of the more susceptible 

 varieties of apples. The planting of Alexander and 

 Transcendent Crab has been discontinued on this 

 account, and in some sections other varieties must 

 be watched carefully and will probably be discarded 

 eventually. 



Of the apple orchard insects, the codlin-moth is 

 easily the most important, and over almost the entire 

 region up-to-date methods of control must be em- 

 ployed. Both the green and woolly aphis are ever- 

 present enemies of the apple orchards, the first troub- 

 ling young orchards especially. The San Jose 1 scale 

 has not as yet become a troublesome pest in the apple 

 orchards of the greater part of the mountain region. 

 The oyster-shell scale, the bud-moth and the green 

 fruit-worm are of only local importance. 



The majority or orchardists of this region are well 

 equipped with modern power spraying machinery, 

 and as a rule are well posted on spraying methods. 



O. B. WHIPPIJB. 



The apple in Oregon and Washington. 



The states of Oregon and Washington are noted 

 for their diversity of fruit conditions. Their soils range 

 from the lightest loam to the heaviest adobe; their 

 rainfall varies from 8 or 9 inches to over 100; their 

 elevations extend from sea-level to the snow line. From 

 the horticulture of each of these states, which is thor- 

 oughly described in this Cyclopedia, the readers can get 

 complete details concerning these special characteristics. 



In Oregon apple-culture is largely confined to such 

 valleys as the Rogue River, Umpqua, Willamette, 

 Hood River, Freewater-Milton, and Grande Ronde, 

 with certain developments along the coast, especally 

 in such regions as Coos Bay. 



In Washington the development is largely east of the 

 Cascade Range in such inland districts as Wenatchee, 

 Yakima, Walla Walla and Lewiston-Clarkston. 



General considerations. 



Apple-culture on the Pacific Coast is characterized by 

 the following: 



Communal development. In such valleys, for example, 

 as the Hood River (Fig. 277) or Wenatchee, one finds 

 that apple-growing is almost the sole industry, and large 

 contiguous areas are devoted to apple-production 

 alone. One sees the entire absence of diversity of agri- 

 culture in some districts. These orchards may occasion- 

 ally be very large, although in the more highly devel- 

 oped regions the tendency is for small orchards very 

 intensively developed. 



Intensive tillage. There is practically not a fruit- 

 grower to be found on the Pacific Coast who is not a 

 firm believer in tillage. In a few sections, the intro- 

 duction of shade- crops is supplementing the former 

 intensive tillage, but the almost universal practice is 

 to till very intensively. 



Systematic spraying. Each orchard is given frequent 

 sprayings, according to a specified program. There are 

 very few orchards on the Pacific Coast that are not 

 equipped with power sprayers, capable of maintaining 

 200 pounds of pressure. Pacific Coast apple-growers 

 are thoroughly alive to the value of spraying for pests. 



277. Apple orchard in Hood River valley. 



Methodical thinning. It would be very hard indeed 

 to find any fruit districts in which the orchardists do 

 not thin regularly. They would no sooner give up 

 thinning than eating. It is thought by a great many 

 growers that thinning pays a larger dividend on the 

 investment than any other orchard practice. 



Skillful packing. The Pacific Coast has long been 

 famous for the high-grade packing of its fruit products. 

 Every effort is made to educate the growers to be skill- 

 ful fruit-packers, and rigid systems of inspection are 

 maintained in order that the high grade of the pack may 

 not be sacrificed. 



Spirit of cooperation. Almost every community is 

 thoroughly organized. The spirit of cooperation has 

 taken a firm hold with the people and its benefits are 

 thoroughly realized. Not only have certain sections 

 organized, but there is every indication at the present 

 time that within the next few years apple interests of 

 the entire Pacific Coast will be consolidated into a 

 central selling agency. 



The personnel of the Pacific Coast fruit-growers can 

 be characterized by the large number of young men, 

 especially college graduates, who arc engaging in apple- 

 culture. In Hood River alone there are in the neigh- 

 borhood of one hundred and thirty college graduat. s 

 from all parts of the country engaged in apple-growing 

 and making it a life-work and study. There are also 

 large numbers of retired business and professional 

 men from various parts of the country. Such men, 

 because of their enthusiasm, are anxious to adopt up- 

 to-date methods in order to make very successful fruit- 

 growers. They intend to specialize in making apple- 

 growing a very serious business. It is not an uncom- 



