Page 12 



BETTER FRUIT 



December 



BETTER FRUIT 



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern Fruit Growinfi and Marketing. 



Published Monthly 



by 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



407 Lumber Exchange 

 PORTLAND, OREGON 



TWO GRADES OF APPLES. 



What promises to bo the most inter- 

 esting conference ever lield in connec- 

 tion with the fruit industry of the 

 Northwest will take place in Spokane 

 December 10 to 13, when the Washing- 

 ton State Horticultural Association, the 

 Inland Empire Fruit Growers' Confer- 

 ance and the Washington State Grade 

 and Pack Conference will hold a joint 

 meeting. A splendid program has been 

 prepared and some interesting exhibits 

 will be shown. For some years the 

 University of Idaho has been working 

 on a series of experiments in cross- 

 breeding of apples and will have a most 

 interesting exhibit showing definite re- 

 sults. The Washington State College is 

 preparing a very complete exhibit fea- 

 turing by-products of the fruit industry. 

 Several years ago Better Fruit dis- 

 cussed the subject of two grades of 

 apples, and at that time the Editor 

 stated he believed that a plan could be 

 adopted that would meet with the satis- 

 faction of all growers in the Northwest. 

 Many growers believe that two grades 

 are sufficient — the first grade to be 

 Extra Fancy and the second to be the 

 Fancy and "C" grades combined. This 

 matter was discussed at a conference 

 held in Spokane at the National Apple 

 Show two years ago, but very little was 

 accomplished. 



The Washington State Grange and 

 Pack Conference will take up this sub- 

 ject thoroughly. The question of a two- 

 grade pack will come before the grow- 

 ers and shippers to be either rejected 

 or accepted. For two years the Federal 

 Government has been working on the 

 subject of standard grades, which has 

 been largely handled by Mr. Boding- 

 house of the Bureau of Markets. A com- 

 plete questionaire in regard to the pro- 

 posed changes in the apple grade and 

 pack has been sent to 4,000 growers in 

 the Northwest and the answers will be 

 used as a basis for the proposed Federal 

 grading law. 



Some growers feel that four grades 

 are too many, while other growers con- 

 tend they have a market for the present 

 number of grades and the lowering of 

 our grading would mean that North- 

 western apples would lose their present 

 high standard. The proposed Federal 

 regulations call for virtually a two- 

 grade pack. There would be no change 

 in the first grade — the standard of Extra 

 Fancy would be maintained absolutely. 

 The Fancy and "C" grade would be 

 combined — some have suggested this be 

 termed "standard." If two grades are 

 to be packed, this would take all of 

 what is packed as Fancy and a propor- 

 tion of "C" grade that is first class, to 

 include the healed worm stings, but 

 eliminating the uncolored apples of the 

 red or striped varieties. This would 



mean there would be a third grade, but 

 the (piality of this grade would be so 

 poor that in normal years practically 

 all of this grade would go to the by- 

 products factories. The question of scab 

 and color will be diflicult to contend 

 with. I'nder the i)roposed Federal 

 grade the scab or combined scab on any 

 apple would have lo come within one- 

 quarter of a stiuare inch to be included 

 in either of the flrsl two grades. If it 

 had more than this il wouhl have to go 

 in with the cooker. The fruit growers 

 of the Inland Empire do not sufTer so 

 severely with fungus, and they do not 

 have to contend with colors as much as 

 the fruit growers along the Columbia 

 River, but they do have more healed- 

 over worm stings. 



It is a well-known fact that the adop- 

 tion of standard grades with the in- 

 spection service will eliminate to a 

 large extent the risk now assumed by 

 the buyer and seller in doing business 

 on f.o.b. basis. ^Vhen a buyer is de- 

 pending on a supply of apples for his 

 customers and is forced to reject a car 



iSetter JFruit 



€berp i'ubscrifaer anb 



Cberp ^tibertiger 



^ iHcrrp Cfjrigtmag anb 



^ ilappp i^eto l^car 



because of improper grading his loss is 

 heavy. On the other hand, very often 

 a car is rejected without just cause and 

 the shipper loses. The Government is 

 anxious to assist us to standardize our 

 packs — it has no intention to penalize 

 the fruit growers of the Northwest, and 

 it is hoped that every district will send 

 representative men who are fully com- 

 petent to present their views so that the 

 meeting in Spokane will be well at- 

 tended and the subject thoroughly dis- 

 cussed. 



wormy apples going on the market. 

 But one word more of advice. Every 

 grower should purchase his spray mate- 

 rial early. Don't i)iit it olf until you 

 are ready to spray, because then the 

 supply may be so diminished you will 

 not be able to purchase the sjiecial 

 brand you are seeking. 



Spray Materials. — Fruit growers in 



some districts of the Northwest suffer- 

 ing severely from codling moth in 1917 

 learned a lesson. In the season of 1918 

 they used good power outfits, purchas- 

 ing the best brands of spray and fol- 

 lowed a rigid spraying program, with 

 the result they have a wonderfully 

 clean crop. Other districts in the 

 Northwest were not so careful. For 

 some reason certain sprays were omit- 

 ted and the loss from codling moth will 

 be very heavy. When a grower receives 

 his check for his Extra Fancy and for 

 his culls he will realize the value of 

 efficient spraying. In some sections 

 more applications are required than in 

 other sections, but there is no reason in 

 the world why every district should 

 not be cleaner and more free from 

 worm stings than it is, which is all due 

 to lack of spraying. There is nothing 

 that prevents consumption or hurts the 

 apple industry more than poor and 



Fruit growers need not worry about 



the car situation this year. Word has 

 been received there will be plenty of 

 refrigerator cars available for moving 

 the crop, but a warning is issued that 

 cars must be loaded to their capacity. 



Mr. W. M. French, president of the 



International Apple Shippers' Associa- 

 tion, who has been very actively iden- 

 tified with the movement of sending 

 apples to the American soldiers in 

 Europe, is advised it will be impossible 

 to send apples across this year. It is a 

 disappointment to many here as well 

 as to the boys across the sea, and while 

 conditions may develop that some 

 action may be taken later toward send- 

 ing a shipment it is very unlikely. Last 

 year the International Apple Shippers' 

 Association sent a gift of a big ship- 

 ment, and the many hundreds of letters 

 received from the boys who were for- 

 tunate enough to receive one or more 

 was evidence that the gift was appre- 

 ciated. 



Lady-bugs to Assist in Exterminating 

 Aphis. — The Bureau of Entomology, in 

 connection with the Forestry Service, 

 will locate the caches of lady-bugs, to 

 be used in Oregon and Washington to 

 assist in exterminating aphis. In some 

 parts of California lady-bugs have been 

 found to be of inestimable value in aid- 

 ing the growers, and it is hoped the 

 growers of Oregon and Washington 

 will derive good results. The lady-bug, 

 which is really a beetle, congregate 

 early in the fall, remaining inactive in 

 large colonies. They have a red body 

 with black spots and are from one- 

 eighth to one-fourth of an inch in 

 length. 



Mrs. Hulda Shepard of Chelan, Wash- 



ington, has perfected a process whereby 

 apple butter is made into bricks. The 

 apple bricks are wrapped in oil paper 

 and can be shipped to all parts of the 

 world, as they keep indefinitely. A 

 company has been organized, known as 

 the Shepard Fruit Products Company, 

 which has erected a plant and ma- 

 chinery will be installed, so that work 

 will commence immediately. Many 

 apples that ordinarily would go to 

 waste can be turned into this fruit 

 product, netting the grower a good 

 profit. 



The National League of Commission 



Merchants will hold their twenty- 

 seventh annual convention in Boston, 

 January 7, 8, 9 and 10, at the Copley 

 Plaza Hotel. There will be some splen- 

 did speakers and topics of such vital in- 

 terest will be discussed that no member 

 of the produce line can afford to miss. 

 Mr. Cecil H. Cummings is in charge of 

 the entertainment committee and a good 

 time is promised to all. 



