Page J I 



BETTER FRUIT 



December 



BETTER FRUIT 



HOOD RIVER. OREGON 



Official Organ of The Northwest Fruit Growers' Association 

 \ Monthly illustrated Magazine Published In 

 [nteresl of Modem Fruit Growing and Marketing 



All Communications Should Be Addressed and Remittances 

 Made Payable to 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



E. H. SHEPABD, Editor ami Publisher 



STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



OREGON 



C. I. Lenls. Horticulturist Corvallls 



WASHINGTON 



Dr. A. I.. Melander, Entomologist Pullman 



\t Morris. Horticulturist Pullman 



W. S. Thornbcr. Horticulturist Pullman 



COLORADO 



C. P. Gillette, Director and Entomologist Fort Collins 



E. B. n CI lei of Department of Civil and Irrigation 



Engineering. State Agricultural College Fort Collins 



ARIZONA 



E. P. Taylor. Horticulturist Tucson 



WISCONSIN 



Dr. E. D. Ball. Director and Entomologist Madison 



MONTANA 



O. B. Whipple. Horticulturist Bozeman 



CALIFORNIA 



C, W. Woodworth. Entomologist Berkeley 



W II. Volck, Entomologist Watsonville 



Leon D. Batchelor, Horticulturist Riverside 



INDIANA 



H. S. Jackson. Pathologist Lafayette 



BRITISH COLUMBIA 

 It. M. Winslow. Provincial Horticulturist Victoria 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: 



In the United States. $1.00 per year in advance 



Canada and foreign, including postage, $1.50 



ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION 



Entered as second-class matter December 27, 1906. at the 



Postofflce at Hcod River, Oregon, under Act 



of Congress of March 3, 1S79. 



Fruit Products. — Better Fruit has 

 been advocating for years past, edi- 

 torially and otherwise, the value of 

 canneries, evaporators and by-product 

 factories. "Fruit products" is a name 

 that has recently been coined, which 

 should always be used instead of by- 

 products. By-products has a suggestion 

 of something made from .waste mate- 

 rial, whereas fruit products indicates 

 something more wholesome and far 

 more attractive. The Northwest in 

 1917 for the first time made wonderful 

 advances in the by-product business. 

 All of the old canneries and evaporators 

 have been busy — many new ones have 

 been built and are running to the full 

 limit of capacity, most of them working 

 overtime. A new field is being devel- 

 oped for the fruit grower. Apples 

 below grade, which have only realized 

 $4, $5 or $6 per ton for the fruit grower 

 in the past, this year have been selling 

 pretty generally at the following prices: 

 Culls for vinegar, $8 per ton; all apples 

 below C made, $10 to *13.50 per ton; 

 apples below C grade, not loo small in 

 size, in good condition, suitable for can- 

 ning or evaporating, have sold for 

 $12.50 to $15. We are advised that 

 Idaho growers were offered $9 per ton 

 f.o.b., with freight rate to factory of 

 $9 per ton, making the price equivalent 

 in districts where any factories are lo- 

 cated of *18 per ton. In Watsonville, 

 California, a few years past, evapo- 

 rators have paid for good stock fre- 

 quently as high as $18 to $20 per ton. 

 It looks as if the fruit growers of the 

 Northwest had developed a new busi- 

 ness in one year that will take care of 

 all apples below grade at a price that 

 will pay the grower some profit. And 

 equally, if not more important, is the 

 fact that canneries and evaporators 

 will this year establish a business that 

 will enable them to take care of all the 

 surplus of perishable fruits. In Cali- 

 fornia fruit growers have been growing 



peaches, apricots and pears and mak- 

 ing big money al prices paid by the 

 canneries, frequently selling all their 

 crop in this way without shipping any 

 fresh. 



Pruning for Size. — The Northwest 

 fully realizes that in competing with 

 oilier apple sections, particularly in the 

 East, it is necessary to produce a high- 

 class product in every respect. That 

 the Northwest can do this is beyond 

 question or argument. They grow a 

 greal many varieties to perfection, 

 which are nol equalled in other sec- 

 tions of the United States, for which 

 there is always a good demand for a 

 reasonable quantity. It is generally ad- 

 mitted there is no question about the 

 fact that consumption can be largely 

 increased on Northwestern apples by 

 proper diversity, salesmanship and 

 publicity. But the very small apple 

 can never be expected to pay a profit 

 worth while on top of the freight 

 charges that all apple produced in the 

 West have to hear that are shipped to 

 Fastern markets, consequently it is up 

 to the grower to do away with the 

 excess in small sizes. It is found upon 

 a very thorough investigation that 

 pruning is one of the most important 

 factors in connection with the small 

 apple. Professor V. B. Gardner of the 

 Experiment Station, Corvallis, has 

 given the matter of pruning for size 

 special attention, and for the benefit of 

 the fruit growers delivered and address 

 on this subject at the Tenth National 

 Apple Show in Spokane, which is pro- 

 duced in this edition. The article is so 

 valuable and instructive that every 

 fruit grower should read it carefully 

 and learn how to decrease the amount 

 of small apples produced in his orchard. 



many growers". It loosens up the soil 

 down to a depth of several feet, permit- 

 ling the roots of the apple trees to go 

 down. In loosening the soil it also 

 makes better drainage. Some orchard- 

 ists who have been troubled with win- 

 ter kill seriously in past years, by blast- 

 ing under the roots of the trees in con- 

 nexion with the use of tile draining 

 and cover cropping have eliminated 

 practically all winter kill. A little com- 

 mon sense on the part of the fruit grow- 

 ers — a little more careful attention in 

 regard to pruning and the condition of 

 the soil will result in a splendid im- 

 provement in increasing size, increas- 

 ing productivity. Fair-sized apples is 

 a mighty important factor in returns on 

 the apple crop — the larger the apples 

 the less the cost of harvesting, sorting 

 and packing, and the larger the apples 

 the better prices obtained. 



Size and Yield. — The apple crop of 

 1917 ran more largely to small sizes 

 than usual, probably due to a number 

 of causes. The season was not a rapid- 

 growing season — the weather unusu- 

 ally dry. A great many fruit growers 

 have allowed their trees to become too 

 thick with limbs, consequently the tree 

 sets too many fruits — too much of a 

 top for the root system, which has a 

 tendency to make small apples. The 

 proper supply of plant food is also a 

 large factor to be taken into considera- 

 tion. Growers of strawberries and 

 vegetables and all kinds of prdoucts 

 that root very shallow find the yield 

 continually decreasing. They are able 

 to maintain a fair yield usually by two 

 methods — fertilizing and subsoiling. 

 Cover crops are also helpful inasmuch 

 as they root deeply, bringing up the soil 

 fertility from below, which can be cul- 

 tivated into the top soil by plowing 

 under. Cover cropping has been found 

 very helpful to orchardists in increas- 

 ing production by size. In addition the 

 cover crop has an additional advantage 

 of putting additional humus in the soil, 

 which is quite a necessity. Boots from 

 apple trees will go down several feet. 

 It is a well-known fact there is a suffi- 

 cient supply of plant food in the lower 

 depth to supply an apple orchard for 

 a great many years if made available. 

 Blasting is reported very helpful by 



The Liberty Loan. — The complete 



success of the Second Liberty Loan, 

 although expected, is an indication of 

 the wealth of the United States and the 

 patriotism of its citizens. The excel- 

 lency of the selling organization is 

 beyond praise, but more important than 

 this is the cheerful and ready manner 

 in which the bonds were bought. Capi- 

 tal and large business concerns sub- 

 scribed liberally, but the most impor- 

 tant factor in connection with the sale 

 of Liberty bonds is the fact they were 

 bought by millions of people in mod- 

 erate circumstances. Many people have 

 become bond owners who were prob- 

 ably never investors before the war. 

 Great good will come out of all this in 

 the future in making the working 

 people more saving and creating in 

 them a desire for investment. The 

 Third Liberty Loan will probably be 

 offered early in 1918, and we must all 

 in tike ready to assist the government 

 and the administration in every way 

 possible to the fullest extent. 



Increasing Farm Products. — The 

 United States, during the war and for 

 several years afterward, will have to 

 supply the world with an increased 

 percentage of food. The reasons for 

 Ibis are generally well understood. 

 There are two ways — to increase our 

 output, by intensive cultivation and by 

 increased acreage. Every fruit grower 

 and farmer who has uncleared land 

 should clear all the additional land pos- 

 sible this winter to help feed those 

 whom we will have to take care of in 

 the future. In doing this you will he 

 doing a humane act, and will also con- 

 tribute to the prosperity of the country, 

 and at the same time will improve 

 your own financial condition and bank 

 account. 



Small Apples. — Small-sized apples this 

 year may prove a blessing to many con- 

 sumers, for the reason that the pur- 

 chasers of a box of small sizes can 

 supply all of his family, give each of 

 the children an apple for their lunch 

 basket, at a very small cost, which is 

 quite important in these days of ad- 

 vanced prices on nearly all food com- 

 modities. 



