IQII 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 29 



Copyright 1910 by R. M. Kellogg Company, Three Rivers. Michigan 

 PRIDES OF MICHIGAN, GROWN BY JACOB FRESE, MICHIGAN 



Willamot Valley, into the Umpqua and 

 Rogue River countries and up the Colum- 

 bia to The Dalles; to Walla Walla, to 

 the Puget Sound region and finally all 

 over the irrigated sections of Oregon, 

 Washington and Idaho. California, like- 

 wise, proved to be well suited to cherry 

 culture. Verily, the Pacific Coast is a 

 Cherry Heaven. 



To the Eastern visitor, although he 

 may be a cherry grower of long experi- 

 ence, it is a revelation to see the cherries 

 that grow from California to British 

 Columbia and eastward as far as the 

 foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The 

 trees seem to be perfectly at home and 

 they bear almost without a single failure, 

 and usually so heavily as to surpass 

 belief. Last year there were hundreds 

 of branches cut from the heavily laden 

 trees and brought to the Alaska-Yukon- 

 Pacific Exposition at Seattle, Washing- 

 ton, from many sections of the North- 

 west to show how the fruit really hung 

 upon them. At the Yakima County 

 exhibit one day some Eastern ladies 

 were looking at several of these branches, 

 and I overheard one say to another, 

 "See how nicely those cherries are tied 

 on the branches." Although it was none 

 of my business (for my duty was to 

 judge the fruits, which I was just then 

 doing) I said to her, "You can untie 

 and eat some of them if you like," and 

 she at once began to look for the strings, 

 and not finding them, said, "I don't see 

 where they are tied." To which I 

 replied, "No, because the Good Lord tied 

 them on," and then they wondered more 

 and more, but went away believing that 

 cherry trees could not really hold such big 

 loads of fruit. And it is really wonder- 

 ful how they bring to maturity such tre- 

 mendous crops of large and luscious 

 cherries, and rarely with a blemish. 

 There is not a wormy cherry in all that 

 region, for there are none of the insects 



there that cause this trouble in the East- 

 ern States. Likewise it is seldom that 

 cherry rot occurs, except during rainy 

 spells that cause the ripe or ripening 

 fruit to crack, and then the air causes 

 decay. Rains seldom occur at that sea- 

 son of the year, and only in some sec- 

 tions. The dry air and almost entire 

 absence of rain during summer time east 

 of the Cascade range is better for the 

 cherry crop than the climate west of it, 

 although some of the best cherries I have 

 ever seen were grown on the shores of 

 Puget Sound. 



It has never been my privilege to 

 attend one of the "cherry fairs" of the 

 Pacific Coast, but I have seen extensive 

 displays of the fruit at expositions, both 

 East and West, for many years past, and 

 I have been in the orchards at all sea- 

 sons of the year, and know from sight 

 and taste the truth about the region I 

 call Cherry Heaven. There is nothing 

 equal to it in the Eastern and Central 

 States, and there never can be because 

 of the peculiarly favorable climate and 

 soil combined. Whether it is volcanic 

 ash, disintegrated basalt or glacial drift, 

 these soils all suit the needs of the cherry 

 trees. They grow and spread their 

 branches wide and high; the glossy fruit 

 hangs among the dark green leaves along 

 the branches in such profusion that it is 

 no wonder those who had never seen 

 the like before thought the cherries were 

 tied on by artful man. 



The . size of most varieties, whether 

 sweet or sour, is usually much larger 

 than the same of Eastern growth. There 

 is nothing strange is seeing boxes of 

 cherries prepared for market that exceed 

 an inch in diameter and I have seen 

 several ten-pound boxes that averaged 

 an inch and an eighth. For many years 

 past I have occasionally measured speci- 

 mens that were more than an inch and a 

 quarter in diameter, grown in California, 



Oregon and Washington. No doubt 

 Idaho and British Columbia can do as 

 well. And the quality of the Western 

 cherries is as good as their looks. The 

 sweet varieties are really sweet and the 

 sour ones are sour, although the flavor 

 of most kinds is mild, subacid and very 

 pleasant. The large subacid or sweet 

 varieties with firm flesh are grown exten- 

 sively and almost exclusively, for the 

 sour varieties are not only smaller, but 

 too soft for Eastern shipment, and there- 

 fore only grown for home use and in 

 small quantities. 



The Eastern market for cherries is 

 always good, especially for the higher 

 classes, such as will sell at good prices 

 at the fancy fruit stands. And there is 

 little danger of Eastern competition, 

 because there is no other section where 

 the same grades can be grown. The 

 nearest approach to it is in Northern 

 Michigan, where cherry trees under good 

 culture yield splendid fruit and usually 

 in abundance. I have often been in an 

 orchard of over two thousand trees near 

 Frankfort, where the trees and fruit both 

 reminded me of those of the Pacific 

 Coast. The climate and soil are well 

 suited to the cherry and the owner 

 understands the culture and packing of 

 the fruit about as well as the Western 

 growers. The prices obtained have 

 usually been satisfactory, but hot and 

 very damp weather has sometimes caused 

 severe losses from rot. The Western 

 cherries are firmer in flesh and will stand 

 shipment across the continent with little 

 loss from this cause. 



The most popular varieties grown on 

 the Pacific Coast are Bing, Lambert and 

 Napoleon, the latter being usually called 

 Royal Ann over all that region. There 

 are almost none of the old varieties 

 grown extensively except Napoleon, but 

 it is now perhaps the most popular of 

 all because of its bright rosy color, large 

 size, pleasant flavor and ability to bear 

 long shipment well. The Bing and Lam- 

 bert are both dark, purplish red, and 

 attain even larger size and stand ship- 

 ment equally well. They are gaining a 

 strong foothold and will probably soon 

 exceed Napoleon in general favor; the 

 Oregon, Hoskins and other new seedlings 

 of Western origin are being tested and 

 in time to come still newer varieties may 

 surpass all that have gone before. VvHiat 

 may we not expect of the future of 

 Cherry Heaven? 



GOOD APPLE PROSPECTS.— Reports from 

 dififerent sections of Western New York agree 

 that conditions for a good apple crop are prom- 

 ising. The weather has been cool nearly all the 

 time and there has been no rapid budding of the 

 trees, as was the case in March, 1910, when a 

 period of warm weather was followed by a sleet 

 and snow storm in_ April, blighting the blossoms. 

 Peaches this year hav'e rLot entirely escaped, but it 

 is the opinion of a large number of growers that 

 a large part of the crop will ripen. Fruit trees 

 of every variety are now about in normal condi- 

 tion. Prospects for berries are good, as they have 

 wintered well. Reports today from the Southern 

 Ulster fruit belt, one of the biggest fruit sections 

 in Eastern New York, were to the effect that the 

 outlook is encouraging. .\ prominent fruit culti- 

 vator said: "There has been enough evenly bal- 

 anced cold weather to liven the fruit trees up 

 well and yet hold back buds, and now that warm 

 weather is about to come it is evident there will 

 be a large fruit yield. The peach crop in this sec- 

 tion will be especially good." 



