Appendix. 199 



markets of the world change with every turn of the hand. I have 

 given this side of the fruit problem a great deal of thought, study and 

 inquiry for some years past. I have placed myself in communication 

 with commission men and United States consuls all over the world, for 

 the express purpose of learning the condition of fruit crops in their 

 respective localities and the possibilities for a market for our own fruits. 

 The summary of these reports I caused to be published in the daily, 

 weekly and horticultural press, but very, very few generals have de- 

 veloped to take advantage of the situation. 1 know, however, of one 

 fruitgrower who has shipped over one hundred carloads of apples, mostly 

 of his own growing, to England alone, which netted him a dollar per 

 box, f. o. b. shipping station, for absolutely first-class, four-tier apples. 



A few days ago I met a commission merchant who exports many car- 

 loads of fruit, and told him that Boston offered a first-class market at 

 the present time, having just returned from there and found only small 

 scabby apples. He laughed and said: "Oh, no; we get better prices for 

 our apples in England and Germany, where you said last fall to ship to." 



Last fall a prunegrower came to my office and asked what he should 

 do with his prunes, the growers' association having failed to organize. 

 He showed me some of extra large size and very fine quality, running 

 mostly twenty to thirty to the pound. I told him to take them East into 

 some community where there were a good many Germans, as they know 

 the fine quality of the Italian prune and appreciated them better than most 

 others, but they do not want lye-dipped and processed prunes. He said 

 his were not dipped. A few days ago he returned and told me he sold all 

 his large-sized prunes for twelve cents per pound, while at the very 

 time prunes are offered in this market at most any price. 



Colonel T. R. Weaver, of California, an extensive prunegrower, in sum- 

 ming up the existing condition of the California prune situation, said, 

 "What is to be done?" and answered himself: "Simply go to work and sell 

 these goods ourselves by making a demand for them with the consumer, 

 and make it to the interest of the trade, both v.'^holesale and retail, to 

 handle them, because of that demand, and make that demand so great 

 that they can be handled at a smaller margin of profit than at present by 

 the retail trade." Here is another man with advanced ideas, and if he 

 will only remember what Commodore Farragut said on a memorable oc- 

 casion, "D — n the torpedoes; steam ahead," we will have another horti- 

 cultural general. 



These remarks of Colonel Weaver suggest the thought that the Pan- 

 American exposition, to be held this year, offers an excellent opportunity 

 to carry out his ideas. Within a radius of five hundred miles of Buffalo 

 there is a population of forty million people, and it is reasonably expected 

 that a good proportion of these forty million people will visit this exposi- 

 tion who should be educated and enlightened on the fine qualities of our 

 Italian prune, as an economical, nutritious and wholesome article of food. 

 A few tons of evaporated prunes will do a missionary work, the result 

 of which cannot be readily calculated at this time. A large kettle full 



