Pasc 20 



BETTER FRUIT 



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern Fruit Growing and Marketing. 



Published Monthly 



by 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



703 Oregonian Building 

 PORTLAND, OREGON 



Box Apple Distribution. 



Notwifhstancling a number of handi- 

 caps, statistics recently compiled by the 

 United States Hureaii of Markets show 

 a wider distribution of Northwestern 

 box apples during the past season than 

 in any previous year. Almost every 

 possible market was invaded, including 

 the South and Southeast, where bar- 

 reled apples usually reduce the sales 

 of boxed fruit to a negligible quantity. 

 ^^^^ile this situation is accounted for 

 to some extent by the light crop in the 

 East it did not apply to the Southeast- 

 ern section of the country, more par- 

 ticularly Virginia and West Virginia, 

 where there was a good crop, but which 

 sections were unable to market as many 

 apples in the big eastern markets dur- 

 ing the past season as in 1918, while 

 sales of Northwestern box apples in 

 1919 greatly exceeded those of any 

 •former year. These facts are interest- 

 ing in that the apple product of Virginia 

 and West Virginia is the strongest com- 

 petitor of the Western box apple in 

 appearance, quality and pack, and as a 

 rule is sold considerably cheaper. 



What is more interesting, however, 

 to the Northwest apple grower, is the 

 announcement of a luucb wider distri- 

 bution of Northwest apples in sections 

 that have heretofore been largely un- 

 touched, for having once been intro- 

 duced into these new markets in consid- 

 erable quantities a demand has been 

 created that should mean still greater 

 shipments in a wider field in future. 



More Scientific Pest Control. 



In a timely article in the Oregon 

 Grower, entitled "Modernized Control 

 of the Codling Moth," A. L. Lovett, Ento- 

 mologist at the Oregon Experiment Sta- 

 tion, after discussing the nece.s.sity of 

 moth control, says: 



"The weak link in our chain of con- 

 trol is first hand knowledge of seasonal 

 activities. Try as we will the station 

 at Corvallis cannot properly advise dis- 

 tant fruit districts as to the exact spray 

 schedule for their locality. A variation 

 of 100 feet elevation means approxi- 

 mately four days variation in time of 

 natural events. 



"A well trained specialist in each 

 fruit section would cost the district 

 about $5,000 a year, salary, expenses 

 and all. If your average losses from 

 codling moth have been 12 per cent and 

 he reduces the losses for the district to 

 8 per cent, figure your crop for this 

 year, add 4 per cent, estimate its value 

 and decide if your section can afford to 

 be without such a man. Where special- 

 ists are present they are rendering bet- 

 ter service than that. 



"It is simply a .situation we face; in 

 spite of our knowledge what to use, and 



BETTER FRUIT 



how to use it, the clement of timely ap- 

 plication is a limiting factor we can no 

 longt^r ignore or deny. 



"Through the aid of the Extension 

 Service a system of mailed notices, simi- 

 lar in character to the weather bureau 

 notices could be developed whereby 

 every grower could be informed just 

 when he should spray. The suggestion 

 is sound, Oregon is ready for such a 

 service. Where such specialists are 

 available the value derived from their 

 timely advice is beyond question. Are 

 we ready to consider such a step, it is 

 absolutely sane." 



In summing up his conclusions for a 

 more scientific and perfect control of 

 the codling moth, Mr. Lovett is present- 

 ing a matter of dominant interest to 

 the fruit grower. Partial tests along 

 this line have proved to be the saving 

 of many hundreds of dollars to grow- 

 ers. Wliy not supply the weak link in 

 the chain? 



Helping Oregon's Fruit Industry. 



\Miile the State Departments of Horti- 

 culture of California and Washington 

 are receiving liberal appropriations to 

 carry on the work of developing and 

 improving the fruit industry in those 

 states, Oregon is providing the ofTicials 

 who have this work in charge with an 

 appropriation so small that their work 

 is very much hampered. 



Considering the limited amount of 

 funds that the State Board of Horticul- 

 ture of Oregon has to use in the import- 

 ant work that it is carrying on the 

 board is rendering excellent service. 



But the fruit industry in this state is 

 now growing by leaps and bounds, and 

 is fast becoming one of the state's great- 

 est resources in the field of agriculture. 

 To properly care for this already large 

 and growing industry the scope of the 

 Oregon State Board of Horticulture 

 should be enlarged, its authority made 

 more complete and a much larger ap- 

 propriation made available at the next 

 session of the legislature for it to carry 

 ils work on efficiently. 



The Standard Apple Box. 

 The men interested in the fruit indus- 

 try of the Northwest who successfully 

 combatted the proposal to have Con- 

 gress change the standard apple box to 

 some other form of container and there- 

 by undo work that it has taken several 

 years to accomplish, are to be congrat- 

 ulated on their success. The standard 

 apple box as the best container for 

 shipping the crop of the Pacific North- 

 west was evolved after many experi- 

 ments and conferences and to make any 

 changes in it would be decidedly dis- 

 advantageous. With this big fruitgrow- 

 ing section of the country shipping 

 from one-third to almost one-half of 

 the entire apple crop of the United 

 States, it was entitled to its claims to 

 weighty consideration at the hands of 

 Congress. The Northwest is not ob- 

 jecting to the styles of containers used 

 in other sections, but wants what it be- 

 lieves to be the best for its own uses. 



May, 1^20 



What Newspapers Interested 

 in Fruit Are Saying 



Owing to the extreme hiRh price of boxes 

 for the coming season a large number of the 

 Walsonville, California, apple packers have 

 decided to ship a part of the coming season's 

 crop in bulk, loose in the cars. This matter 

 has been taken up generally with the packers 

 and the following firms have agreed to ship 

 at least one-half of the shipments loose: Loma 

 Fruit Company, M. L. Kalich, M. N. Lettunich 

 and T. J. Hogan. — Fruit Trade Journal. 



Competition between boxed and barreled 

 apples has been more active than usual this 

 year. Northwestern fruit has been otTered 

 liberally in markets formerly supplied mainly 

 with eastern barreled apples. Virginia and 

 West Virginia comprise a distinct shipping 

 section usually ranging second to New York 

 hut this year the two southeastern states have 

 a combined volume of shipment exceeding that 

 of New York, owing to the short crop in the 

 latter state. The two Virginias are leading 

 eastern centers for such varieties as York Im- 

 perial, Ben Davis, Grimes and Winesap. The 

 commercial crop has been sold mostly in New 

 York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and various 

 cities of the southern states. — The Market Re- 

 porter. 



It is impossible to write cheerfully of the 

 present fruit season. Crops generally have 

 been poor and fruit small. Particularly has 

 this been the case with stone fruits, which 

 suffered very badly from the drought. Pear 

 growers are also complaining. In many cases 

 these crops have been rendered almost value- 

 less through the ravages of codling moth. This 

 despite repeated and regular sprayings. True, 

 local prices have been generally good, but this 

 does not help us much when we have little 

 fruit to market. The Cape growers have been 

 the worst sufferers and there is no doubt that 

 the effects of last season's disastrous condi- 

 tions are still being felt. A really good manur- 

 ing would be a wise tonic for many orchards 

 hut with Karroo manure at £10 per ton (as 

 against £1 10s. Od. normal price) and every 

 other kind of fertilizer correspondingly dear. 

 only the most wealthy growers are inclined to 

 indulge their orchards in this way. — South 

 African Fruitgroiver. 



The following item from the Dallas News is 

 reprinted from Tropiko, the bulletin of the 

 Porto Rico Fruit Exchange: "This state, which 

 was noted for having the largest peach orchard 

 in the country, is gradually losing its prestige 

 as a peach state. The Standard orchard at 

 Scottsville, which was set out and cultivated 

 by the Verhalen Brothers, is like the others, 

 losing its grip. The big Standard orchard will 

 soon be no more. Nearly 100 axmen have been 

 busy this week cutting down the thousands of 

 peach trees. The entire orchard has been 

 leased by B. M. Baldwin, who will cultivate 

 more than 2,700 acres in cotton and corn next 

 year. It has been understood for some time 

 that the orchard was not a paying proposition 

 and the Standard was the last of the big or- 

 chards in this country to be abandoned." — 

 Big "1" Dulletin. Yakima. 



One of the greatest pleasures of past gener- 

 ations was the pleasant thoughts of early days 

 at the old homestead. In England there is 

 many a home which has been handed down 

 from father to son, until the years that it has 

 been occupied by the same family runs into 

 centuries. In America a generation or two ago 

 old homesteads were common, but within the 

 last quarter of a century the lure of health, 

 wealth, and adventure have almost made the 

 people of the United States a nation of shifting 

 families. There is a great distinction between 

 the words "shifting" and "shiftless." A shift- 

 ing family is not a shiftless one but it does 

 seem a pity that when the children of the 

 thousands of shifting families reach manhood 

 and womanhood, that in retrospection they 

 cannot look back to any certain locality and no 

 certain homestead and say "it was there that 

 I spent my childhood." — Southern Fruitgrower. 



The severe freeze that occurred in the middle 

 west April third, fourth and fifth damaged the 

 fruit crop more or less. Growers, however, 

 have been prone to consider their losses much 

 greater than in all probability they actually 

 are. In the great majority of orchards that 

 were injured to a certain extent there are still 

 plenty of fruit buds left to produce a good 

 crop of fruit, if the orchards are handled 

 properly the rest of the season, and if no 

 particularly unfavorable weather occurs later. 

 Mention is made of this fact, by V. R. Gardner 

 of the Vniversity of Missouri College of .\gri- 



