IQI6 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page ip 



spell set in. The general weather con- 

 ditions during the blooming period have 

 been one of the best in the last ten 

 years. There has been some rain dur- 

 ing the blooming period, but not pro- 

 longed. The frost has been absent en- 

 tirely or very light. There has been 

 considerable sunshine, the usual amount 

 of warm weather with an even tem- 

 perature. The unusually favorable 

 conditions are shown by reports of 

 Oregon bee men, who say that the 

 bees have accumulated an unusually 

 large supply of honey. 



"The college authorities attribute the 

 drop to weather conditions of January 

 and February. Last winter was one 

 of the hardest on fruit trees in the last 

 twenty years. This weather damaged 

 the trees by loosening and breaking up 

 the cambium layers, sometimes split- 

 ting the bark and wood, .\ttention was 

 called to this condition by the special- 

 ists during the latter part of February. 

 It was said at that time that the injury 

 would become very noticeable along 

 later in the season. This condition has 

 now been reached. It was not merely 

 the severe cold as nuich as the sudden 

 change in temperature that affected the 

 trees unfavorably. On one occasion 

 within three hours the thermometer 

 dropped from sixty to thirty degrees. 

 Such sudden changes must of necessity 

 have damaged the trees. Lack of nutri- 

 tion first appeared in the buds, which 

 suffer most. This laid the foundation 

 for the present heavy drop of fruit. 



"Other evidence that the damage is 

 due to winter injuries is shown by the 

 abnormal condition of the pollen. Also 

 the injury is most severe in regions that 

 have been affected unfavorably by 

 drought during the last one or two 

 years. It is also bad on shallow soils 

 and in orchards suffering from lack of 

 cultivation. These conditions are al- 

 ways apparent in the East, where win- 

 ter injury is frequent. Although the 

 fruit crop may be exceedingdly light, 

 yet it has been shown in the past that 

 trees that shed their fruit abnormally 

 may recover and in time become good 

 trees. Hence the department urges the 

 importance of simply giving good care 

 and treatment to the trees and soil and 

 allowing nature time to work her own 

 recovery." 



Mr. R. G. Phillips, secretary of the 

 International Apple Shippers' Associa- 

 tion, states that many apples being 

 barreled which should be sent to the 

 evaporator, cannery or cider mill, is 

 a big factor in oversupplying the mar- 

 kets. He is correct. It may be said in 

 addition to the above remark that this 

 class of apples when shipped usually 

 does not pay the freight and are 

 handled at a loss, when a reasonable 

 amount could be realized if they were 

 sent to the evaporator or vinegar fac- 

 tory. Mr. Phillijjs also states that the 

 off-grade fruit disidayed in the grocery 

 stores and fi'uil stands repel rather 

 than invite consumpticm. It is not only 

 possible to produce too many apples 

 but it is very easily possible to kill the 

 best apple markets in the world by try- 

 ing to force inferior grades and varie- 

 ties on the public . 



"Wenatchee" 



Fruit and Vegetable 



Picking Bags 



(Patented April 27, 1915) 



This bag is emptied by releasing a snap. The bag 

 will hold about a bushel. When snapped at the frame 

 it will hold about a half bushel. The frame is made of 

 steel, the canvas is 10-oz. and every point is reenforced 

 with leather where from experience it has been found 

 necessary. Price $1.75 post paid to all parts of the 

 United States where we have no agents. 



Wenatchee Hardware Company 



Sole Manufacturers Wenatchee, Wash. 



The Use of Checks 



in the payment of bills means the avoidance 

 of dispute, inconvenience and error. It is 

 the progressive and thrifty way. It displaces 

 the unsafe method of keeping money at home, on one's person and 

 in other unprotected places. Paying by check conveys an impres- 

 sion of good judgment and good management. Adjust your finances 

 to the simple requirements of a checking account; it will be to 

 your advantage. Your checking and savings account invited by this 

 long-established, strong state bank. 



LADD & TILTON BANK, 



F=>OF=JTl_A,r>0D 

 OREGOIM 



SM^^Mg^l?^EE^M^^a^^MS^?!g^ ;^?lin?WW^E^imEM^^^^EElig 



OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 

 School of Agriculture and Experiment 



Station 



Corvallis, May 29, 19U;. 

 Editor Better Fruit: 



In the April number of "Better Fruit" on 

 page 14 there was published a short extract in 

 which Professor H. A. Surface of the Pennsyl- 

 vania Department of Agriculture advised a 

 Pennsylvania fruit grower to spray with bor- 

 deaux and arsenate of lead for Baldwin spot. 



Knowing that many growers in the North- 

 west often apply the name "Baldwin spot" to 

 the common disease usually known as bitter 

 pit. the writer undertook to find out from the 

 plant pathologist of the State of Pennsylvania 

 what sort of disease was referred to in the 

 article mentioned. In reply, information was 

 received showing that the spotting of apples 

 in Pennsylvania for which spraying is effective 

 is not the bitter pit or "Baldwin spot" of the 

 Northwest, but is the Cylindrosporium spot, 

 not known to occur in the West. 



The bitter pit or "Baldwin spot" of the 

 Northwest is a disease of physiological origin 

 and cannot be controlled by spraying. This 

 disease and related troubles are admirably dis- 

 cussed in the Tebruary, 1916, (page i:i) num- 

 ber of "Better I'ruit" by T>r. Charles Brooks, 

 and the reader is referred to this article for 

 reliable information on the subject. 



Very sincerely yours, 



H. P. Bahss. 



Charges Often Made 

 Against Auctions 



"The auction is a dumping ground" — 

 but why are the choicest cherries, 

 oranges, lemons, grape-fruit, pears, 

 plums and i)ineai)ples sold at auction. 



"Combinations are likely to exist 

 among the buyers" — but why do the 



California Fruit Growers' Exchange, 

 The California Fruit Distributors, The 

 Florida Citrus Exchange, and The Mu- 

 tual Orange Distributors, use exclu- 

 sively the auction in twelve or more 

 of the largest ])opulation centers of the 

 I'nited States, and why do their agents 

 put the lie to the above statement so 

 often made to growers by interested 

 parties. 



"The auctions are sporadic and un- 

 certain" — but wh>' do prices on like 

 quality and condition of fruit not vary 

 over ten or fifteen cents at any sale. 



"Auction selling is not good merchan- 

 dising" — but wh,\- did the United I'^ruil 

 (;om|)any tliscai'd the private salesmen 

 and adopt the auction in New York, 

 Philadelphia and Ballimorc. 



"The auctions cause gluts" — but why 

 are the\ used to relieve gluts in the sell- 

 ing of apples whenever the private sales 

 system is clogged. 



"The auclion selling of apples is new 

 and untried'" — hid have not llie apples 

 been selling al auclion in London, Liver- 

 pool, (ilasgow and Hamburg for years; 

 and did not the Boston auction handle 

 salisfaclorily nearly one-half of the 

 cars of box apples sent to that market. 



The Truth. 



"The fruit auclion system is Ihe logi- 

 cal, economical and eflicienl way of dis- 

 tribulion of standardized fruits in large 

 populalion centers" — so says the De- 

 paiinient of Foods and Markets of the 

 .State of New York.— No. .5.— .\dv. 



