Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/497



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have been the most reHable gold mines ever since. And this morning's daily paper (September 2, 191 o) announces the fact that Hood River apple growers have sold to one dealer in New York city, four hundred car loads of apples for an aggregate sum of half a million dollars. This purchase by Steinhardt & Kelly, fruit dealers of New York city, is said to be the largest single purchase of fruit ever made in the United States. This great sale of apples, most of which will go to London, will be filled by the varieties known as Yellow Newtowns, Spitzen- bergs, Jonathans, Ortleys, Arkansas Blacks and Winter Bananas. This sale, this early in the season shows that the market for first class fruit is not likely to be overdone, and that orchards on good soil and well taken care of, will pay the very highest rate of interest, over all costs of producing the fruit, on a valuation of three or four thousand dollars an acre.

And here is an important fact in the development of the fruit industry of the world, and the distributors of food products by means of modern transportation agencies. Here are four hundred car loads of fine apples produced within sixty miles of a city of two hundred and twenty thousand people, and where transpor- tation would not exceed five cents a box ; and yet these apples are sent entirely across the continent at a cost of fifty cents a box for freight, put in cold storage in New York city, and later on sent to London and other cities of Europe, and sold at such prices as give the dealers profits and expenses all along the line. None of the Pacific coast cities buy these fine apples ; nor do they get anythuig that is equal to them. The people of the Pacific coast won't pay New York prices for Oregon apples. The same may be said of pears produced in Rogue River valley in south- ern Oregon. Rogue River pears are sent to Montreal, Canada, as well as to New York. These facts seem to prove that the demand for Oregon fruit is not likely to be over-supplied within a lifetime.

When Oregon sent its delegation to the World's Fair Exposition at Buffalo, the enthusiastic representatives of Oregon fruit put up a flaring aggressive placard over their exhibits, which was at the time thought to be over-wrought, and claim- ing too much, but which it seems that time and trial is fully vindicating, as follows:

CHALLENGE.

"Come Doum Arkansas! Come Donm British Columbia! Come Dozvn Virginia!

Come Doztm New York! Come Down World! The Oregon

Rooster is up to Stay! We Show the Biggest Apples,

and the Biggest and Best Fruit of All Kinds!

They are no' Flies on Oregon Fruit."

This great victory for Oregon fruit against all competition in the whole world that has shown fruit at the national expositions has not been accomplished with- out the application of persistent painstaking labor, long and careful experience, and scientific knowledge. Fruit pests of all kinds have had to be combated and reduced to the minimum ; soils had to be studied ; the varieties of fruit adapted to different soils had to be determined; and the methods of care and culture thor- oughly studied. In this work the professors of the Oregon Agricultural Ex- periment Station have given their best thought and hearty aid and support. Experimenters and observers in every locality have freely contributed their time and money; and the most disagreeable and thankless task of enforcing the law against fruit pests so as to clean up old orchards has been laid on shoulders that knew they must sacrifice friends and popularity by a faithful discharge of duty. The hardest job in this last line of duty in the whole state fell to the lot of Mr. Millard O. Lownsdale, a son of the founder of the city of Portland. Mr. Lown- dale had gone up to "Old Yamhill" County, where the oft-time praised "big red apples" alvv'ays grew, and purchased one of the most sightly and perfect locations for a great commercial orchard in the state; and had at great expense converted it into not only a most beautiful estate, but also into a great money m