ipiQ 



BETTER FRUIT 



Northwest Receives Big Returns on Apples 



THE final returns for the 1918 apple 

 crop in the Northwest which are 

 now being completed show that grow- 

 ers generally throughout this district 

 had a very profitable season. 



Hood River Average $1.87 



According to the report of Manager 

 A. W. Stone of the Hood River Apple 

 Growers' Association, which was de- 

 livered to the growers Saturday, March 

 8th, the gross returns to the association 

 were the largest in its history, totaling 

 $2,102,900.90. The detailed income from 

 all sources was as follows: 



Stores, $290,000; apples, $1,520,000; 

 strawberries, $120,288.42; pears, $106,- 

 998.18; cherries, $14,875.75; raspberries, 

 $151.70; loganberries, $77.92; gooseber- 

 ries, $3; prunes and plums, $9.75; black- 

 berries, $752.13; crabapples, $248.38; 

 quinces, $65.74; ice, $9,500. 



The report showed that the pools on 

 all varieties of apples except Newtowns 

 had been closed, and that with the ex- 

 ception of this variety the average price 

 for all grades and sizes was $1.87 per 

 box, the highest received in Hood River 

 since 1911. The final returns on New- 

 towns, it is expected, will make this 

 average somewhat higher. In his re- 

 port Mr. Stone digressed from his 

 formal report to pay a high tribute to 

 the local experiment station. 



"The experiment station," said Mr. 

 Stone, "is the valley's most valuable 

 institution. This report shows it to 

 have returned the orchardists of this 

 valley thousands of dollars last year. 

 Its permanency will increase its value, 

 and for their recent legislation we owe 

 the legislature a debt of gratitude. I 

 urge on all of you growers to make the 

 fullest use of this institution." 



* • « * 



$9,500,000 for Apples at Wenatchee 



Practically complete returns have 

 now been received from every grower 

 in the Wenatchee fruit-growing district, 

 including Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas 

 and Grant Counties, for the season of 

 1918. This report shows that a total 

 of 8,350 cars of apple were produced, 

 besides 1,237 cars of summer fruits, or 

 a total of 9,587 cars. The total gross 

 return to the grower is given as $1.65 

 per box for apples of all grades and 

 varieties, or a total of $9,500,000 for 

 6,400,000 boxes. The 1,237 cars of soft 

 fruit returned approximately $2,000,000 

 to the growers. 



The total acreage of bearing orchard 

 in the district, both apples and summer 

 fruit, is shown to be slightly less than 

 35,000 acres. This indicates an average 

 yield of $325 per acre for every acre 

 of land in fruit in the district, good, 

 bad and indifferent. 



By-product factories in the district 

 used 250 cars of apples, 300 cars were 

 shipped to other factories in the state, 

 and the remainder went out as com- 

 mercial fruit. The total loss from 

 worms was about 8 per cent, instead of 

 from 15 to 25 per cent, as predicted 

 early in the season. About 650 cars of 

 apples remain in the district. 



Yakima Ships Over 10,000 Cars 

 Fruit shipments out of Yakima passed 

 the 10,000-carload mark during Febru- 

 ary, when it is estimated that 441 cars 

 left the vallev over both the Northern 

 Pacific and O.W. R. & N. Railroads. 

 This is an average of about one car a 

 day better than January, when 415 car- 

 loads were shipped out. Records of the 

 total amount of fruit rolled throughout 

 the 1918-1919 season show: November 



30, 8,425; December 31, 9,475; January 



31, 9,890; February 28 (estimated), 

 10,301. 



Page Ip 



$4 for Yakima Winesaps 

 On March 12th two carloads of Yaki- 

 ma apples were sold on the regular 

 market for $4 a box. They were 4 and 

 4% tier extra fancy Winesaps. This is 

 to date the highest price ever obtained 

 for carload lots of apples in the history 

 of the fruit-growing industry in this 

 valley. Of late the price has been 

 creeping to within hailing distance of 

 the even $4 mark. There are hopes in 

 the breasts of a few holders of the fast 

 diminishing stocks that even $4.50 will 

 be reached. Two weeks ago $3.75 was 

 paid for two carloads of similar fruit, 

 and a couple of cars of extra large, 

 extra fancy brought $3.90. 



Interesting Notes on the Fruit Industry 



THE third biennial report of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture of the State 

 of Washington, just issued, contains an 

 orchard census of the state. This cen- 

 sus is taken every two years. 



The last report shows a total of 

 6,617,785 apple trees in the state. Of 

 these 1,904,032 were Winesaps, 1,343,720 

 were Jonathans, 777,582 were Rome 

 Beauties, 555,064 were Delicious, and 

 449,426 were Spitz. 



The fourth horticultural district, in- 

 cluding Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas and 

 Grant Counties, led the state in the 

 number of apple trees with 2,664,047 

 trees of all varieties. An interesting 

 comparison is found by comparing the 

 orchard census for the M''enatchee dis- 

 trict, recently completed by District 

 Horticultural Inspector P. S. Darling- 

 ton with that of three years ago, which 

 was the last one made. 



This shows that the total acreage in 

 fruit in the four Counties of Chelan, 

 Okanogan, Douglas and Grant has de- 

 creased from 41,711 in 1915 to 34,815, a 

 loss in total acreage of about 7,000. 



The number of apple trees has de- 

 clined from 2,678,172 in 1915 to 2,288,490 

 in 1918. 



Peach trees have decreased in num- 

 ber from 108,382 in 1915 to 51,977 last 

 year, a loss of over 50 per cent. 



The Idaho State Horticultural Associ- 

 ation at its recent meeting at Boise had 

 48 boxes of apples contributed by the 

 growers for advertising purposes, for 

 distribution to the newspaper men and 

 the legislature, and to the visiting pub- 

 lic to eat. Although 1918 was an off 

 year for the Boise valley and Payette 

 district, yet certain orchards more fa- 

 vorably located secured full crops. 

 J. P. Gray came down from Mesa in the 

 Council district with an exhibit of 28 

 boxes of apples of remarkably high 

 quality in five varieties. These orchards 

 of 1200 acres just coming into bearing 

 produced about fifty carloads of apples 

 in the year 1918; they also shipped out 

 many carloads of peaches. The outlook 

 for a successful year for the fruit in- 

 dustry in the Payette and Boise valleys 

 is regarded as very favorable this year. 



• • • * ' 



Without the slightest congestion in 

 the movement of the Hood River valley 



apple crop of this year, a tonnage of 

 almost 1100 carloads of fruit was 

 moved to points of distribution with a 

 more noticeable celerity than in the 

 past seven years. Almost 75 per cent 

 of the tonnage of the valley had been 

 shipped by December 20, and nearly 50 

 per cent of the apples remaining in the 

 big cold-storage plants of the Associa- 

 tion had been sold by that date. 



• * * * 



The first shipment of "Shepard's 

 Fruit Concentrates" will probably be 

 made from the new plant of the Shep- 

 ard Fruit Products Company at Wenat- 

 chee, Washington, within the next few 

 days. After many unexpected delays 

 the factory is finally ready to manufac- 

 ture apple concentrates in large quanti- 

 ties. The factory will use from 20 to 25 

 tons of fruit daily. A force of about 

 twenty-five people will be employed 

 during the balance of the season. 



* * * • 



Complete figures compiled by the 

 Dallas, Oregon, Commercial Club show 

 little planting of apples in the last five 

 years. The prune acreage has increased 

 greatly, however, due to adaptability of 

 the red hill lands to this fruit and to 

 the high prices of the last few years. 

 The Italian prune is the only variety 

 planted. 



Richey& Gilbert Co. 



H. M. GILBERT. President and Manager 

 Growsri and Shippers of 



Yakima Valley Fruits 

 and Produce 



SPECIALTIES: 

 AfplM, Peaches, Pears and Cantaleupes 



TOPPENISH, WASHINQTON 



Nice Bright Western Pine 



FRUIT BOXES 



AND CRATES 



Good standard grades. Well made. Quick shipmenta. 

 Carloads or less. Get our prices. 



Western Pine Box Sales Co. 



SPOKANE, WASH 



