1502 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OP PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



mook, Wincliester, Coos and Cape Blanco. 

 The largest river is tlie Columbia, into 

 wliich. empty the Snake, Umatilla, John 

 Day, Deschutes and the Willamette rivers. 

 The principal lakes are Klamath, Goose, 

 Warner, Salt, Christmas, Albert, Summei', 

 Silver Henry, and Malheur. Crater lake 

 in the Cascades, 8,000 feet above sea 

 level, is the crater of an extinct volcano 

 10 miles in circumference, and surround- 

 ed by bluffs 2,000 feet high. It is said to 

 be the deepest body of fresh water in 

 America. 



The climate is varied, depending large- 

 ly on relations to the coast and to the 

 high mountain ranges. The Japan current 

 sweeps down the coast, modifying both 

 heat and cold west of the Cascades, and 

 in some degree east of that range 



The rainfall in the western part aver- 

 ages 89.6 inches; in the Willamette val- 

 ley, 50 8 inches; in the east, 12 7 inches; 

 and in the central portion, 6.5 inches. 



The character of the soil is different in 

 the different valleys of Oregon. For in- 

 stance, in Rogue River valley, the soil is 

 largely decomposed granite mixed with 

 basalt; in the Umpqua valley, clay pre- 

 dominates, with alluvial sands in the riv- 

 er bottoms; in the Willamette valley, the 

 soil is generally heavy, with streaks of 

 sandy loam; in the Columbia valley all 

 kinds of soil exist from drifting sands to 

 the compact clays 



The most famous apple-growing sec- 

 tion in the state is the little valley of 

 Hood River, about 20 miles long and from 

 four to five miles wide on the average 

 It grows a very fine quality of fruit which 

 is put up and marketed in the most at- 

 tractive style, therefore bringing the high- 

 est prices. Next to this in the state of 

 Oregon is the Rogue River, justly famous 

 as a fruit-growing section, and next is the 

 Willamette, where perhaps cherries are 

 grown as successtully as in any other 

 place in the United States. There are 

 other fruit sections coming into promi- 

 nence, but these named are the most fam- 

 ous. Peaches, prunes, English walnuts, 

 small fruits, in fact all kinds of fruits 



grown in the temperate zone, seem 

 adapted to some part of the state of Ore- 

 on. 



Professor C. I. Lewis, chief of the Divi- 

 sion of Horticulture, Oregon Agricultural 

 College, says: "The Rogue River valley 

 in Southern Oregon contains about 45,000 

 acres of fruit land, 30,000 acres of which 

 is m pears, the Bartlett being the leading 

 variety, while the Comice, D'Anjou, Bosc 

 and Winter Nelis are i}opular varieties. 

 The apples planted in this section are 

 Yellow Newtown, Spitzenburg and Jona- 

 than. The land values in this district 

 run from $25 to $50 per acre back in the 

 hills, while close to some of the centi-al 

 orchards it will run from $500 up to $2,- 

 000 per acre. 



*Tn the Hood River district we have 

 some 15,000 acres devoted to apples. The 

 leading variety of apples grown in this 

 district is the Spitzenburg, while some of 

 the other varieties are Newtown, Ortley, 

 Jonathan, Red Cheek Pippin and Graven- 

 stein. Land in this district sells all the 

 way from $300 up to $2,500 per acre. 



*Tn the Grande Ronde valley will be 

 found about 5,000 acres of fruit land, 

 principally of mixed orchards, with the 

 apple pi^edominating, the leading varieties 

 being Jonathan, York Imperial and Black 

 Twig At Freewater-Milton will be found 

 3,000 acres principally of mixed orchards, 



"In The Dalles and Diifur district are 

 some 4,000 acres of fruit land. At The 

 Dalles, cherries, prunes and grapes are 

 the leading fruits, while at Dufur many 

 apples and pears are grown as well. 



"Willamette valley contains about 40,- 

 000 acres of fruit land. While 12,000 of 

 it is pear land, yet apples, walnuts, etc., 

 grow to a wonderful degree of perfection. 



"The Umpqua valley contains about 3,- 

 000 acres of fruit land. However, the or- 

 chards in this district are still quite 

 young. 



"Possibly throughout the rest of the 

 state will be found 3,000 or 4,000 acres 

 planted to fruit trees. Not over 15 pei 

 cent of the fruit trees in Oregon ai^e in 

 bearing. The average yield of an orchard 

 is much less than people generally sup- 

 pose. Many orchards are planted on poor 



