Page 6 



BETTER FRUIT 



August 



Courtesy of Southern Pacific Railivay 



Dairy Cattle, Coquille, Oregon 



The California producers are consid- 

 erably ahead of the Northwestern pro- 

 ducers in handling this type of fruit. 

 They have made a closer study of va- 

 riety characteristics. They give much 

 more attention to thinning, pruning and 

 picking, and their packing is much 

 superior to our own. This is being 

 strongly brought out by reports of some 

 of the marketing districts that receive 

 fruits from both sections. However, 

 these are matters which the intelligent 

 growers of the Northwest can easily 

 master. 



It will be interesting to note some of 

 the variety characteristics of the lead- 

 ing shipping plums and prunes pro- 

 duced in California: 



Beauty — A new plum which has been 

 fruited but little. However, it is a very 

 promising plum. It will be rather hard 

 to ship unless handled carefully. The 

 tree is a very strong grower, having a 

 willowy type of growth. Probably will 

 be a heavy bearer, even when planted 

 alone, and is thought to be a very good 

 pollinizcr. 



Burbank — A bright red plum. Very 

 strong grower, requiring severe prun- 

 ing. Has a tendency to over-bear. 

 There is a feeling in some sections that 

 the Burbank is losing ground. 



Grand Duke — A large purple plum. Is 

 a good bearer. Well received in many 

 markets. Is firm, sweet and of pleasing 

 flavor. 



Diamond — A purple plum, a very 

 heavy bearer, and universally well spo- 

 ken of as good grower and bearer. It 

 needs heavy pruning. This plum is dis- 

 tinctively tart, and on that account is 

 very popular. Is one of the most prom- 

 ising for the Northwest to try, and 

 should sell well wherever the Italian 

 is a favorite. 



California Red — A light red plum, 

 considered a good shiiier, but reported 

 in some districts as being a shy bearer. 



California Blue — A comparatively 

 new plum. Shows indication of being 



a good bearer, but needs further trials 

 before definite recommendations can be 

 given. 



Tragedy — A blue plum. The only one 

 of the European type which tends to be 

 of medium size. Frequently it is a shy 

 bearer. It is very popular, however, 

 on the market. 



Wickson — A sharply-pointed plum of 

 dark red color. Makes a rapid upright 

 growth and blooms profusely. Gener- 

 ally sets well, but drops fruit badly 

 during season, often as a result giving 

 a very light yield. 



Giant — A large purplish red plum. A 

 very heavy bearer and needs heavy 

 pruning. Competes somewhat with 

 Hungarian, but doesn't meet with quite 

 as good reception on the whole as does 

 the Hungarian. 



Gaviota — A fine large plum. Its bear- 

 ing qualities in some districts, how- 

 ever, is doubtful. Has a very thick 

 skin, small pit, is quite shapely, a strong 

 grower, and thought by some to dry 

 satisfactorily. Some sections report its 

 bearing very favorably. 



Formosa — A large red plum. One of 

 the very best early. Makes an upright 

 growth and occasionally blossoms 

 lightly but sets well. Needs heavy 

 pruning. Is extremely promising for 

 the Pacific Northwest. 



Hungarian — A large red plum which 

 needs very little comment in the North- 

 west. Is locally known as Pond's Seed- 

 ling. Should not be confused with 

 Hungarian Prune, which is a large blue 

 fruit. 



Climax — A dark red plum. One of 

 the very best early, but not as good as 

 Formosa in quality, and is apt to crack 

 at blossom end. The tree makes a small 

 wiry growth. Requires heavy pruning, 

 as it sets and bears well. 



Santa Rosa — A red plum which grows 

 much like the Gaviota. The flesh is 

 also a little tinged with red. A heavy 

 bearer, needing severe pruning. One 



of the most promising for the Pacific 

 Northwest. 



Champion — A dark purple plum, 

 grown especially near Salem. Has a 

 rather pecular form, being compressed 

 on the side. Is very firm, a good ship- 

 per and considerably earlier than 

 Italian. 



The following plums are either Jap- 

 anese or Japanese hybrids, and are 

 large, sweet plums, generally red in 

 color: Beauty, Burbank, Wickson, Ga- 

 viota, Formosa, Climax, Santa Rosa. 

 The so-called European varieties are 

 considered superior in quality, larger in 

 size, and most of the varieties are blue 

 or purple, there being a few red, how- 

 ever. The following are varieties of 

 the European type: Grand Duke, Ital- 

 ian, Hungarian, Tragedy, Giant, Cali- 

 fornia Red, California Blue. 



Our readers will be interested in 

 knowing the market opinion of some 

 of these varieties: 



One New York firm stated that the 

 most popular varieties in that market 

 are: Tragedy, Hungarian, Burbank, Dia- 

 mond, Wickson, Grand Duke, Santa 

 Rosa and Italian. The Splendor, a new 

 variety from California, is also highly 

 spoken of. The bulk of the California 

 fruit arrives early in July and August. 

 The Pacific Northwest Italian prunes 

 are being exported very successfully to 

 England. A second firm reports that 

 75 per cent of the Northwestern fresh 

 fruit goes to the great East Side, known 

 as the Ghetto, and that this section will 

 buy almost unlimited quantity as long 

 as the prices are cheap. 



A Chicago house states that other 

 than Italians our plums are apt to be 

 too small, and that the latter part of 

 the season some of the Northwestern 

 prunes arrive in very poor condition, 

 showing considerable blister, mold and 

 decay. Another firm believes the ban- 

 ana is bound to push harder and harder 

 on the soft deciduous fruits. This is 

 due to the cheapness in price. The 

 Italian, Hungarian and Grand Duke are 

 preferred from the Northwest. 



In Philadelphia, Burbank, Grand 

 Duke, Tragedy, Wickson, Giant, For- 

 mosa, Hungarian, Climax, Diamond, 

 Santa Rosa, Italian, are popular. 



In St. Louis one firm states that the 

 city can handle fifteen carloads of Ital- 

 ian a week and maintain present prices. 

 Could handle more provided prices 

 were lowered. The Italian and Hun- 

 garian are preferred, but some Tragedy 

 can be handled. However, they do not 

 want the French from the Northwest. 

 Popular California varieties are: Grand 

 Duke, Burbank, Wickson, Tragedy, Gi- 

 ant, Hungarian, Diamond. This firm 

 also reports that during the latter part 

 of the season considerable of the North- 

 western fruit gets very moldy. 



Milwaukee — The Italian from the 

 Northwest are well liked when they 

 can wholesale at 75 cents a crate, which 

 means a retail price of 25 cents a bas- 

 ket. The most popular varieties are: 

 Tragedy, Italian, German, Climax, Santa 

 Rosa, Grand Duke, Diamond, Hungar- 

 ian, California Red, Clyman. California 

 fruit is received in eight days; North- 

 western in nine. Fruit shipped in 



