19 1 9 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7 



provements of this character to be made 

 in this city will cost more than half a 

 million dollars. As a result of the 

 splendid prices received for last year's 

 products, and the unusually good crop 

 outlook for 1919, business conditions 

 generally throughout this section were 

 never better at this season of the year. 

 ORPHEUS SOOTS, 

 Secretary Yakima Commercial Club. 



Toppenish Hopeful 



Toppenish, Wash., March 30. 

 Better Fruit: 



Answering your inquiry of March 

 12th: In the orchards which I have 

 seen recently, prospects are for a very 

 large crop of all kinds of fruit; espe- 

 cially will there be an increase in the 

 crop of peaches and some varieties of 

 apples. 



Of course, there is still a great lia- 

 bility of frost damage, which may re- 

 duce the prospective crop considerably. 

 A reliable estimate of the crop cannot 

 be made until the early part of May. 



In regard to prospects for the coming 

 crop: I have recently visited a great 

 many points in the East, and during this 

 trip I found that our boxed fruit has 

 reached a great many markets, and has 

 become established in a great many 

 markets which have not heretofore 

 used Northwestern boxed fruit. The 

 Northwestern boxed fruit has generally 

 made a profit for the Eastern purchaser. 

 The fact that the business has been 

 profitable, couple with these new mar- 

 kets, should have a great and good effect 

 on the marketing of the 1919 crop. 



I believe the principal danger which 

 might interfere with or destroy these 

 prospects is the fact that those growers 

 who stored their apples this year have 

 made tremendous profits, and this may 

 lead some growers to attempt the same 

 thing another year. If any large per- 

 centage of the growers had held their 

 apples this season there would not have 

 been the present high prices and large 

 profits, and if any large percentage of 

 the growers attempt to hold or gamble 

 with their fruit next season it may be 

 dangerous to all concerned. 



On the other hand, if the growers of 

 fruit will be satisfied to sell and ship at 

 harvest time, at a reasonable price, I 

 believe the prospects were never better 

 for the marketing of a crop than they 

 are at present. 



Yours very truly, 



C. \V. GRANT, 

 Assistant General Manager 

 Richey & Gilbert Company. 



Spokane Reports Favorably 



Spokane, March 30. 

 Better Fruit: 



The outlook for the fruit industry in 

 the Spokane district and the Northwest 

 has never been better. Orchards so 

 situated as not to be capable of pro- 

 ducing a large quantity of high-class 

 fruit per acre are generally being 

 abandoned, thus reducing the apple pro- 

 duction of the Northwest. 



Growers are generally profiting by 

 the experience of the California orange, 

 lemon, grapefruit, raisin, almond and 



Savefrate 



PAPER COWTAiNgRg 



ECONOMY ^Uk'^tf/JS*^ 



in the initial purchase — 



cheaper than wood 



in storage space — 



half space of shook 



in seahng — 



no hammer, nails, slivers 



in freight weight — 



two-thirds lighter than wood 



in breakage — 



every side a cushion 



SCHMIDT LITHOGRAPH CO. 



Main OfHce: SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 



BRANCHES: — Fresno, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Honolulu 



walnut growers, and the spirit of co- 

 operation has never been stronger. 



The opening of the export markets, 

 occasioned by cessation of the war, will 

 aid materially the scope of distribution. 

 This should have a decided beneficial 

 effect on the market in a general way, 

 and it would seem that the fruit grower 

 of the Northwest has before him 

 prospects for several succeeding years 

 of prosperity. 



The grower must by persistent and by 

 diligent efforts maintain the high stand- 

 ard of grade and pack, since this is the 

 only method that can be used to suc- 

 cessfully place the Northwestern fruit 

 crop in the large and critical marketing 

 centers of the East. 



P. R. PARKS, 

 Manager Spokane Fruit Growers Co. 



Medford Optimistic 



Prospects were never brighter for a 

 big fruit crop at Medford than at the 

 present time, says the Medford Mail- 

 Tribune, because of the great amount of 

 moisture in the ground, the shortening 

 of the frost danger period by the later 

 development of buds this year than for 

 years, and the heavy setting of the 



apple and pear trees with fruit buds. 

 Some of the most optimistic of the fruit 

 growers are enthusiastically predicting 

 an apple and pear crop of 2,000 cars 

 next fall. 



^^Tlile County Agricultural Agent Cate 

 agrees the prospects never appeared 

 brighter for a large fruit crop, yet he 

 warns not to be too optimistic about 

 the frost outlook, and points out that 

 May 21st last year there was a heavy 

 frost of from 22 to 30 degrees, and April 

 .3rd a severe frost of 18 degrees in the 

 valley and 22 degrees in Medford. And 

 two years ago on May 12th there was a 

 severe frost of 26 degrees. 



A prediction of 2,000 cars for the 

 entire valley this year seems to require 

 nmch optimism, as the highest previous 

 crops of apples and pears did not ap- 

 proach anywhere near that number of 

 cars. 



But with the glorious prospects and 

 abundant late moisture this year there 

 is a thorn with the rose, as on account 

 of the saturated ground and continued 

 rains the orchardists are so far behind 

 with their spraying for scale that the 

 majority of them will abandon any 

 further attempt at spraying this year. 



