May, IQ20 



BETTER FRUIT 



1919-1920 Apple Season in the Northwest 



A RECENT report issued by E. M. 

 Seifert, Jr., of the United States 

 Bureau of Markets, says that the un- 

 usually large crop of apples in the 

 Pacific Northwest in the 1919 season, 

 occurring in a period of high price 

 levels, brought almost undreamed of 

 returns to many orchardists and gave 

 satisfaction to practically all growers. 

 In many instances this year's apple crop 

 paid for the entire farm, and many 

 orchards changed hands at unprece- 

 dented prices. 



To many of the buyers and dealers, 

 however, the apple season did not prove 

 so profitable. A number of very serious 

 obstacles were encountered on their 

 part. The prevailing high prices and 

 good export demand in the spring of 

 1919, together with rumors of a pros- 

 pective short crop, misled many early 

 in the season. Opening high prices had 

 a tendency to curtail consumption. 

 Inadequate and congested storage facil- 

 ities which tended to impair keeping 

 qualities, together with two severe 

 freezes, caused large quantities of poor 

 fruit to be dumped on the markets. The 

 severe declines in foreign exchange in- 

 terfered seriously with the anticipated 

 export movement, and the final realiza- 

 tion that the apple crop over the United 

 States as a whole was heavy instead of 

 short also caused losses for many apple 

 operators. Acute car shortages caused 

 much trouble and loss. Many early f.o.b. 

 sales were canceled because deliveries 

 could not be made. Hundreds of cars 

 were frozen in transit, resulting in 

 serious monetary losses and the filing 

 of huge damage claims against the 

 railroads. 



Quality and Pack. 

 The quality, generally, was good. The 

 excessive worm injury last year caused 

 heavier spraying this season, and the 

 fruit was practically free from worms. 

 However, much of the fruit w^as under- 

 size and lacked in color. Some varieties, 

 ripening early on the trees, were fur- 

 ther rapidly ripened by unfavorable 

 storage conditions. In February, re- 

 packing from common storage in many 

 instances showed as high as 50 per cent 

 shrinkage. In many instances also, poor 

 grading and packing was caused by 

 labor shortage and the use of incom- 

 petent help. 



The picking season was exceptionally 

 short and many Winesaps, the last to 

 come from the trees, were caught by 

 the October freeze. Picking started with 

 Jonathans between the 10th and 2,5th of 

 September; Romes, September 25 to 

 October 20, and Winesaps, October 10 

 to October 20. 



A canvass of the Wenatchee, Yakima, 

 Hood River, Spokane, Walla Walla and 

 Southern Idaho districts was made to 

 ascertain the percentages of the princi- 

 pal varieties grown in each district. 

 From the estimated percentages of each 

 variety grown and tiie total shipments 

 from each district, the approximate 

 proportion of the main varieties pro- 

 duced in the Northwest this year were 

 determined. These percentages cannot 

 be considered absolutely accurate, but 



may be taken as a fairly close estimate. 

 Winesaps 25%, Jonathans 18%, Romes 

 137o, Delicious 5%, Newtow-ns 7%, 

 Spitzenburgs 9%, miscellaneous 23%. 



Movement and Storage. 



The production for the Pacific North- 

 west far exceeded expectations and the 

 total crop was the largest in the history 

 of that section. The heavy movement 

 from the four Northwestern states and 

 the rest of the country began October 1 

 and reached the peak on October 17, 

 with a total on that date of 1,362 cars. 

 The Pacific Northwest shipped 536 cars 

 of this total and continued shipping 

 thereafter at the rate of over 400 cars 

 a day until October 28, when the car 

 shortage reduced shipments to less than 

 300 cars a day. The December cold 

 wave further reduced shipments to less 

 than 100 cars a day, but later shipments 

 increased slightly and continued stead- 

 ily to a total of over 32,000 cars. Box 

 cars were used in many instances, 

 equipped with heaters and accompanied 

 by messengers. 



In 1918 practically all the early var- 

 ieties were shipped by Thanksgiving 

 and Winesaps were moving freely by 

 that date. This year Romes and even 

 some Jonathans and Delicious were not 

 shipped until January, and many Wine- 

 saps were still in common storage long 

 after the middle of March. 



The inadequate storage facilities and 

 limited car supply, in the face of in- 

 creased production in the Northwest, is 

 demanding the serious consideration of 

 growers and shippers. Lack of sufii- 

 cient storage space caused heavy losses 

 this year. Barns, garages, stores and in 



Page 13 



fact every available space was filled to 

 overflowing with packed and unpacked 

 fruit. While some fruit was frozen in 

 these temporay and common storages 

 during the extreme cold weather in 

 December, the heaviest shrinkage and 

 deterioration was probably caused by 

 poor or no ventilation and overheating 

 to keep out the frost. 



Prices. 



Growers sold earlier than ever before 

 and prices throughout the season were 

 attractive and profitable. Even those 

 who did not sell at the early high prices 

 realized good figures. Throughout the 

 Northwest growers generally sold extra 

 fancy Jonathans at $2.10 to $2.25, Romes 

 at $2.00 to $2.25, Winesaps at $2.25 to 

 $2.50, and other grades and varieties in 

 proportion. The opening prices in 

 terminal markets showed a very wide 

 range, which continued throughout the 

 season. 



Many jobbers bought freely for future 

 delivery in the early fall when pros- 

 pects were bright, but when the car 

 shortage became acute and other ad- 

 verse factors became evident, many 

 cancellations took place and a general 

 depression set in. However, the con- 

 sumptive demand increased the latter 

 part of February and, assisted by the 

 prevailing high prices for oranges, the 

 market reacted and buying was re- 

 sumed. Tills revival had a salutary 

 effect upon the situation as a whole, 

 but came too late to be of real general 

 benefit. 



In most instances the smaller market 

 netted the best returns and took a big 

 percentage of the Northwest crop. The 

 larger markets where fruit could be 

 sold at auction received much of the 



PEERLESS 



Make Old Cars 

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AUTOMOBILE 



Quality 

 Goods 



SPECIALTIES 



pVERY Owner shovild use the same goods himself that are used by the 



•'-' Automobile Painters. Never trust to luck. Use Peerless goods.'with 



an established reputation. Sold for 10 years throuRhout the world. 



All the goods needed by Auto Owners to k^ep their cars like new. 



Some of the Goods are as follows: 



MOHAIR TOP DRESSING 



Watcrpr-odl's. tiyi-s and renews leak- 

 ing and faded Mi)hair tops. 



LEATHER TOP DRESSING 



Bris;litins. oils and softens all tops 

 of Leather, Pantasote. etc. 



LINING DYE 



Dyes blacli stained, fadrd and spot- 

 ted cloth iiniiiKs, 



CUSHION DRESSING 



Brightens and renews dnil uphol- 

 stery. Dries ciLiiekly. 



FORD TOP DRESSING 



Reni'ws and preservi's rubber tops. 

 I'.si- Mohair Dn*ssint^ on cloth tops. 



TOUCH-DP BLACK 



.Air dries quickly with a fine gloss 

 finish. Use everywhere. 



FENDER JAPAN 



Heavy-bodied, air drying with a 

 rich gloss finish. 



CYLINDER ENAMELS 



Black and grey enamels that resist 

 heat, grease and gasoline. 



BODY POLISH 



A good body polish to revive dull 

 finishes, 



GASKET SHELLAC 



Orange color. Heavy bedied. goes 

 in lack quickly. A perfect sealer. 



ELight Color Finishes 



i Cover so 

 necessary 

 their la\t 



Cover solid with one coat, no undi'reoat 



<sary. Owneis use to paint llieir cars 



oritc colors. Air dry over night. 



Manufactured Only by 



The Columbus Varnish Co. 



Columbus, Ohio, U. S. A. 



Varnish Mf«s. 



Wnr.V WRITING .\D\'ERTISERS MENTION BETTTR FRUIT 



