BETTER FRUIT 



An Illustrated MaRazinc Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern Fruit Growing and Marketing. 



Published Monthly 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



407 Lumber Exchange 

 PORTLAND, OREGON 



The Fourth Liberty Loan.— As a hun- 

 dred years of pressure of competition 

 for world markets miglit not have done, 

 the war is forcing the United States to 

 rally all of its enormous resources, con- 

 solidate them and eliminate the waste 

 which our enemies said would prevent 

 our ever organizing our admittedly 

 overwhelming strength. America and 

 her Allies have been justly surprised 

 by the success which has attended our 

 war efforts, and the Kaiser must ac- 

 knowledge as one of his most serious 

 mistakes his belief that Kultur con- 

 trolled enough of our population to 

 keep us out of the fight to retain honor, 

 justice and mercy as essentials to life 

 and happiness. With that fine con- 

 viction that the glory of the battle is 

 its own remuneration for whatever 

 cost, the United States, like every cham- 

 pion of a just cause since history began, 

 has plunged into the awful world war 

 with no calculations as to its cost in 

 blood or treasure. And, further, we 

 have countered the demand of' the 

 Kaiser for indemnities and territories 

 by the announcement of the policies of 

 "no annexations" and "free self-deter- 

 mination of peoples." The cost of the 

 war must be met. and the approaching 

 Fourth Liberty Loan, which is eight 

 billion dollars, will be the largest single 

 financial feat in the world's history. 

 The United States, bearing largely the 

 financial burdens of the weaker Allies, 

 provided a war - fund program of 

 twenty-four billion dollars a year be- 

 fore the decision to raise the army 

 immediately to five million men. "Lend 

 as they fight" has been proposed as a 

 campaign slogan. The Fourth Liberty 

 Loan campaign will be short, covering 

 but three weeks, from September 28 to 

 October 19, and as every American 

 knows that a subscription of more than 

 twice the size of his share of the Third 

 Liberty Loan is called for, he should 

 be ready with his subscription the day 

 the loan opens. 



PREVENT APPLE SCALD 



PICK WHEN MATURE 



Green apples scald worse than well- 

 colored ones. Pick only when mature. 

 Make more than one picking when 

 practicable. 



KEEP COOL 

 In the Orchard: Keep the picked 

 apples as cool as possible. Low tem- 

 peratures are desirable, but all cooling 

 is valuable. 



Keep the apples in the shade. Open 

 packing sheds and storehouses at night. 

 Ship promptly to market or storage. 



In Transit: Precool the fruit and 

 ship in iced refrigerator cars when 

 practicable. 



BETTER FRUIT . 



In Storage: Get the apples to cold 

 stoiage or air-cooled houses as soon as 

 possible aftei- picking. 



Open packages cool more quickly 

 than tight ones. 



VENTILATE 



In the Orchard: Do not hold warm 

 ajjples in headed barrels. 



In case of delay keep the fruit in 

 open crates if possible. 



Do not hold in large close piles. 



Give the packing sheds and store- 

 rooms plenty of air, especially night 

 air. 



In Transit: Give the apples as much 

 air as is practicable. 



Delay of poorly-cooled fruit in tight 

 cars greatly increases scald and causes 

 heavy losses. 



In Storage: Apples scald less in 

 boxes than in barrels and less in ven- 

 tilated barrels than in tight ones, espe- 

 cially if the storage room receives con- 

 siderable ventilation. 



They scald less in well-ventilated cel- 

 lars and air-cooled storage houses 

 than in unventilated commercial cold- 

 storage plants, but the higher tempera- 

 tures of the former are, of course, un- 

 desirable. 



Storage plants that follow the prac- 

 tice of allowing fresh outside air to 

 sweep through the storage rooms occa- 

 sionally when weather conditions per- 

 mit, report great benefit in the wav of 

 scald prevention.— Office of Fruit Dis- 

 ease Investigations, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Washijigton, D. C. 



"Carry On" is the name of a maga- 

 zine that is being published by the 

 War Department, under the editorship 

 of Arthur H. Samuels, Captain, S. C, 

 N. A., devoted to the reconstruction of 

 disabled soldiers and sailors. The 

 August edition contains articles by 

 President Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, 

 Charles M. Schwab and Judge Julian W. 

 Mack. There is no subscription price 

 and no advertising is accepted. Presi- 

 dent Wilson writes: "There is no sub- 

 ject which deserves more immediate or 

 earnest consideration than the subject 

 of the physical reconstruction of dis- 

 abled soldiers. It must be gratifying to 

 the country that broadly-conceived 

 plans with regard to this matter are 

 being not only developed but carried 

 out, and I personally welcome every 

 instrumentality which is being used to 

 bring about the proper execution of 

 such plans." 



The Apple Crop. — The last reports 

 for the apple crop of 1918 show very 

 little change from those published in 

 July. The .growing season has been 

 very favorable in the Northwest, and 

 on the whole the quality and size of 

 fruit will be very much better than 

 last year. According to estimates the 

 production in Washington, Oregon and 

 Idaho will be around 20,000 cars of 

 750 boxes, which is nearly 5,000 cars 

 less than last year, due to the very light 

 crop in Idaho. 



September 



"Evaporation of Fruits and Vege- 

 tables in the Home" is the title of Ex- 

 tension Bulletin No. 290, just off the 

 press, in which A. F. Barss, assistant 

 professor of pomology, gives suffi- 

 ciently detailed information to enable 

 anyone to construct and operate an 

 evaporator and to evaporate satisfac- 

 torily most of the fruits and vegetables 

 used in the average home. The object 

 in evaporation is to preserve the fruits 

 and vegetables through removal of 

 moisture and to do this with as little 

 change from the fresh state as possible 

 in taste, color, nutritive qualities and 

 general appearance. The particular 

 method used may vary, but the object 

 sought is the same in every case. In 

 some instances there may be a change 

 in color and flavor between the fresh 

 and dried products, but the nutritive 

 value, so far as has been determined, 

 remains practically unaltered, there 

 being merely a concentration of the 

 food material through the removal of 

 water. The principle upon which the 

 process of evaporation is based is that 

 by removing enough of the moisture 

 present in fruits and vegetables, the 

 organisms which cause food to spoil 

 cannot live and grow, thus bringing 

 about preservation. Evaporation will 

 also arrest the natural processes of 

 ripening and decaying. 



"The Motor Truck as an Aid to Busi- 

 ness Profits," by S. V. Norton, is the 

 title of a book recently published by 

 the A. W. Shaw Company of Chicago. 

 Mr. Norton has been very closely asso- 

 ciated with the motor-truck industry 

 for many years. As manager of the 

 Truck Tire Sales Department of the 

 B. F. Goodrich Company he has had 

 many opportunities to study the various 

 problems that motor-truck owners have 

 to contend with. Every concern that is 

 not already equipped with motor trucks 

 for delivery; every fruit grower and 

 farmer who is doing his hauling by the 

 old-style method should read this 

 book; and we would also advise many 

 of those who are already using a truck 

 to read it. There is no type of truck 

 that is not covered in this book. 



Elsewhere in this edition appears an 



article on walnuts by Ferd. Groner, who 

 is one of the most successful walnut 

 growers of the Northwest. Nuts are 

 very nutritious and at the same time 

 a very excellent food, and can be used 

 in many different ways. Every fruit 

 grower should plant a few walnut trees, 

 which will not only help to lessen his 

 living expenses, but there is a big de- 

 mand for nuts and splendid prices are 

 being paid, so that he can sell to excel- 

 lent advantage whatever surplus he can 

 produce. Many sections tliroughout 

 the Northwest are particularly adapt- 

 able to nut culture. 



The pear crop of Wenatchee promises 



to be much larger than last year, esti- 

 mated at around 400 cars. On the local 

 market pears are bringing from -¥50 to 

 855 per ton. Practically the entire crop 

 is contracted for. 



