74 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



is onl}- an infant compared with fruit growing here in the 

 east. We are told that the first peaches grown on the coast 

 were sold in the (then) village of Portland in 1853 at five for 

 a quarter. However, that is not the price of peaches there 

 now. Prunes at that time at 15 and 20 cents a pound, now 

 they are sold for three to five cents a pound, and a grower 

 is fortunate if he can get five cents a pound. Prunes, peach- 

 es, walnuts and apricots marked the introduction of fruit 

 growing into the Pacific coast side of the valley. 



The development of the country on the east side of the 

 Cascades is of later origin. The two regions are radically 

 different in their climatic make-up. It rains a good deal on 

 the west side ; it is very dry on the east side. The residents 

 of the two sections joke each other, the men on the coast 

 calling the inland people Salamanders ; the inlanders calling" 

 the people on the coast Webfooters. The inland region is di- 

 vided into two important sections, based largely on elevation. 

 Along the rivers running through the country are low, warm 

 valleys, giving almost sub-tropical conditions. On those low- 

 er valleys are cultivated tender fruits like the European grape 

 — the black and wdiite varieties, the same type as that which 

 comes from Spain packed in cork ; prune, peach and apricot 

 groves are numerous. 



Then there are the great inland uplands, the plateaus,, 

 which lie between the rivers. These range from a few hun- 

 dred to a few thousand feet above the sea level. That is 

 where cereals were first grown. This is all changed now, 

 fruits have been introduced and fruit cultivation is established 

 on a large scale where the growing of fruit was not dreamed 

 of a couple of decades ago. I believe it is from these sections 

 — the inland uplands — that we are going to hear from most 

 emphatically in the years to come. Given clear summer, sun- 

 ny days, coupled with cool nights ; given water and the rich 

 volcanic ash soil, which exists all through, they are enabled 

 to grow beautiful fruit. The climate and soil make beautiful 

 fruit, but right there I wish to make a distinction. You can 

 have a fine looking thing which is not quite so good on the 



