HOOD RIVER-WHITE SALMON RIVER AREA. 19 



generally conceded that the soils are m need of a greater amount of 

 organic matter, which is most economically supplied by plowing under 

 green crops, and a constantly increasing acreage of orchard land is 

 being seeded down each fall. Oats, wheat, rye, and vetch, sown alone 

 or in various combinations, are commonly used. 



Spraying is practiced at various times of the year to combat the 

 pests common to the various fruits. The control of all tree pests and 

 diseases is demanded by the State law, which is enforced by a resident 

 officer, and the fruit in this valley is being grown with as little infesta- 

 tion as in any section of the northwest. 



The principal varieties of apples grown are the Spitzenburg, New- 

 town Pippin, Jonathan, Ortley, Arkansas Black, Gravenstein, and 

 Red Cheek Pippin. A careful canvas of the varieties of apples 

 showed that there were 86 varieties of trees in the valley that were 

 producmg fruit. About a dozen of these are important, and the 

 remainder are simply remnants from the early plantings when there 

 was no knowledge of the varieties best adapted to these valleys. A 

 number of years of profitable orcharding has shown the growers what 

 varieties may be expected to give the best returns, and as time goes 

 on there will be a steady removal of undesirable trees. 



Alfalfa, clover, timothy, and native grasses are practically the only 

 crops grown for hay in the Hood River Valley. With the exception 

 of an area of rather moist soil in the vicinity of Odell, where there are 

 100 or more acres in native grasses, the above forage crops are nearly 

 always grown in tracts of 10 acres or less in the vicinity of the numer- 

 ous farmhouses. These crops seldom produce more than sufficient 

 hay to meet the needs of the individual growers, and a large part of 

 the forage used in the Hood River Valley is shipped in from outside 

 points. 



Irrigation is more or less commonly practiced in the Hood River 

 Valley, particularly over the soils on the floor of the valley, but in the 

 White Salmon River Valley the only irrigation is on the Wind River fine 

 sandy loam, as the topography of the other soils is so mieven as to make 

 the construction of canals and distribution of water exceedingly 

 difficult and expensive. In the Hood River VaUey strawberries are 

 always hrigated, and a larger part of area in intertilled crops receives 

 one or more applications during the growing season. Apples are not 

 commonly irrigated during the ffi-st few years of their growth, but 

 with the exception of some of the older orchards on the Hood silt 

 loam practically all of the bearing trees are hrigated at regular inter- 

 vals. The water for irrigation is obtained from both the east and 

 west forks of Hood River. The water from this stream is of excellent 

 quality and is more than sufficient for the needs of the valley. 



