PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-THIRD FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 33 



then." That is a mistake. Give me a tree comfortably filled, or well 

 filled, and normal conditions and I will always pick from it the fanciest 

 apples. Because of the shortness of the crop, prices have been high for 

 extra fancy fruit. It was thought last year that the maximum had 

 been reached when 72 's, or larger, in Spitzenbergs sold for $3.10 and 

 $3.15 per box. But this year they have gone even higher, these grades 

 bringing in the Willamette Valley $4 and $5 per box. But we do not 

 imagine that these high prices will continue, and are gradually working 

 toward the English market by top-grafting into Yellow Newtowns. 



There has always been a chance for discussion as to the causes of the 

 coloring of apples, and Professor Van Deman has lately gone on record 

 as saying it is a matter of soil and the availability of its constituent 

 foods. I think the great professor would revise his opinion if he were 

 long a resident of Oregon. Soils, situation, elevation, moisture, and 

 many other considerations may affect, but the inconstance of coloring 

 year after year on the same trees would not bear out the theory. In 

 our valley, if we have early September rains quickly followed by 

 frosts, as is our usual experience, we don't bother much about the color- 

 ing of our apples, in any situation. If we miss either of these condi- 

 tions we are standing a-tiptoe until late in October before we can 

 commence picking, for we pick our apples when they are ready, be it 

 October 1st or November 21st. 



It would hardly be fair to the Willamette Valley, with its sweep of 

 over a hundred miles of rolling hill and prairie, its wealth of woodland 

 witcheries, this garden of the Hesperides, along whose slopes might have 

 been borne the golden apples that won Atlanta— it would hardly be 

 fair to that beautiful valley to ignore its wonderful adaptability to the 

 growing of other fruits than high-grade apples. This valley is a 

 natural haven for tender cherries, those delicate varieties natived in the 

 south of France. Then, too, in the Willamette Valley have been origi- 

 nated the greatest cherries of the world to-day, with the single possible 

 exception of the Napoleon Bigarreau. The Bing, the Lambert, and 

 the Hoskins are an unbeatable trio, as many of you know. Unbeatable 

 for their beauty, their high flavor, and their enormous size. I remember 

 when Mr. Hoskins sent some early specimens of his seedling cherry to 

 the Department of Agriculture at Washington, he received an acknowl- 

 edgment about as follows: "The plums you sent me must have been 

 very fine and large, though they were delayed so long I could not test 

 them as I would have liked." Plums will not stand long delays. 



The Lambert, the Bing, the Hoskins, and the Royal Ann, as grown in 

 our valley, are certainly revelations to the connoisseur of fine fruits. 



And then our Bartlett pears ! The juiciest, the most meltingly deli- 

 cious Bartletts in the universe, as many of you know who have eaten 

 them in their habitat. 



3— FGC 



