80 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



Run." The latter term applying to ungraded apples, and "Choice" to the 

 grade commonly called cooking apples. This should be still further 

 simplified, and only two grades recognized, "Fancy," and "Choice." The 

 term extra applied to fancv does not mean anything. In order to be 

 "Fancy," it must be clean. sound fruit of the highest color for the 

 variety, and there can not well be a higher Standard commercially than 

 that. The bulk of our exports must be of fancv grade, but the Standard 

 must be raised a little for the choice grade, and a very considerable 

 market can be found for fruit of that grade. It must of course be 

 absolutely free from insect pests, and sound in condition, but may be off 

 color and contain fruit marred by limb rubbing or marked by weather 

 conditions. It can not be too often nor too forcibly repeated that the 

 Standard of our fruit must be raised to a higher olane and maintained 

 there if we are to continue to hold our trade. 



Great progress is being made each year in the matter of shipping of 

 our more perishable fruits to distant markets. 



When we are well supplied with pre-cooling stations and refrigerating 

 plants we can successfully enlarge the market for all our more perishable 

 fruits, such as strawberries, cherries, plums and prunes. These already 

 reach a very wide market, but the scope can be doubled at least, with 

 proper facilities. 



Oregon is in a position now to become the leading apple and pear 

 producing state in the Union. We have the reputation for the highest 

 quality grown anywhere and we have more suitable land than any other 

 State. The completion of the Panama Canal will put us in splendid 

 shape for reaching the markets of Europe by means of refrigerator 

 steamers with freight rates one-half less than we are now paying. The 

 natural advantages are all ours and it only remains for us to do our 

 part and in ten years the fruit production of the State should reach the 

 sum of $50,000,000. 



