The Walnut Boom in the Pacific Northwest
After decades of skepticism, horticulturists confirm that English walnuts can thrive in Washington orchards, offering farmers a lucrative new crop.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
State Horticulturist A. Van Holderbeke, who has just returned from a trip in Yakima, Klickitat and Clarke counties, is positive that the white walnut, or English walnut, can be successfully raised in all parts of this state. For many years it has been thought that the walnut would not mature in Washington, but in the last few years the trees planted fifteen and eighteen years ago have matured, and farmers have found the trees producing big crops selling side by side with the best nuts of the kind in the markets. Mr. Van Holderbeke has found that the trees possess the great advantage of having entire immunity from pests which infest fruit trees, and are also free from disease, requiring no spraying. While the horticulturist was in Clarke county he saw orchards of walnut trees, many of which were bearing as many as 100 pounds of nuts. These, Mr. Van Holderbeke says, the growers can sell wholesale for 15 cents a pound, making a gross income of $15 a tree. Another advantage is the ease with which the nut crop is handled and the fact that the crop is not perishable as fruit crops are.
“The crop is not perishable as fruit crops are.”
This reflects the period's intense focus on diversifying Washington's agricultural base beyond traditional fruit, signaling the birth of the nut industry that still shapes parts of the state today.
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