COST OP PEODUCIKG APPLES IN HOOD RIVER VALLEY. 5 



(6) Though the average yield of the valley is lower than that of 

 some other sections, the region studied, however, produces apples of 

 the very highest quality. 



(7) The valley is particularly well adapted to the production of 

 Yellow Newtown and Esopus, both of which grow to perfection here. 



These conclusions, of course, apply to the 54 farms studied in the 

 valley. Individual growers often obtain much better results than 

 those indicated by the averages here presented ; indeed, in some years 

 exceptional yields run as high as 1,000 boxes per acre. It is believed, 

 however, that the averages derived from the records of the 54 farms 

 studied are a fair measure of the normal business of the apple in- 

 dustry of the valley. 



Considering the residential advantages of the locality, the high 

 grade of the fruit shipped, and the valley's already long estab- 

 lished reputation for high quality of product and reliability of pack, 

 it seems reasonable to conclude that Hood Hiver Valley will continue 

 to occupy an important place in the apple-growing industry. 



THE HOOD RIVER VALLEY. 



For several reasons Hood River Valley, although studied in con- 

 nection with apple-growing regions in other parts of the Nortliwest, 

 should be discussed as a unit. It is more or less isolated and is of 

 limited extent, presenting conditions not comparable with those of 

 such apple-producing regions as the Wenatchee and Yakima Valleys 

 in Washington State or the apple-producing localities of western 

 Colorado. It is a region with a rainfall equaling that of New York. 

 It thus has a climate which is often very favorable to fungus troubles. 

 It has not been irrigated until recently, and much of it is still un- 

 irrigated. The trees have a different habit of growth, with a lower 

 average annual yield, than the trees of most other apple sections of 

 the Northwest. The fact that Yellow Newtown and Esopus are the 

 leading commercial varieties of the valley accounts very largely for 

 the lower average yield as colnpared with some other sections. These 

 varieties are characterized by bearing smaller annual crops. It is a 

 highly specialized fruit region which has developed its own name, 

 its own methods, and determined its own success. In many respects 

 it is entirely different from other important apple-growing districts. 



LOCATION AND EXTENT. 



The Hood River Valley is a limited area, 80 miles east of Port- 

 land, Oreg., on the south side of the Columbia River. 



The Hood River rises at the foot of Mount Hood and flows for 

 about 30 miles north into the Columbia River, the town of Hood 



