Page 14 



BETTER FRUIT 



December 



BETTER FRUIT 



HOOD RIVER, OREGON 



Official Organ of Tlie Northwest Fruit Growers' Association 

 A Monthly Illustrated Magazine Published in the 

 Interest of Modem Fruit Growing and Marketing 



All Communications Should Be Addressed and Remittances 

 Maile Payahle to 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



E. n. t^HEPARD, Editor and PiiblLsher 



STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



OREGON 



C. I- Leuis, Horticulturist Corvallis 



WASHINGTON 



Dr. A. L. Melaiider. Eiitoillologist Pllllmati 



O. M. Morris. Horticulturist Pullman 



W. S. Thonjber. Horticulturist Pulliuan 



COLORADO 



C. P. Gillette, Director aiul Eiuoniolofiist Fort Collins 



E. B. House. Chief nf Department of Civil and In-ig.Ttion 



EnKliieering. State AEricultural College Fort Collins 



E. P. Taylor, Horticulturist Grand Junction 



UTAH 



Dr. E. D. Ball, Director and Entomologist Logan 



JIONTANA 



O. B. Whipple, Horticulturist Bozenian 



CALIFORNIA 



C. W. Woodwortli. Entomolot^ist Berkeley 



W. H Volck. Entomolojrist WatsotiviUe 



Leon D. Batclielor, Horticulturist Riverside 



INDIANA 



H. S. Jackson, Pathologist Lafayette 



BRITISH COLUHraiA 

 R. Af. Wlnslow, Provincial Horticulturist Victoria 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: 



In the United States. Jl.fiO per year in advance 



Canada and foreign, including postage. $1.50 



ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION 



Entered as second-class matter December 27, 1906. at the 



PostolTJee at Hood River. Oregon, under Act 



of Conpress of March 3. IS79. 



Two Grades of Apples. — Some time 

 ago, editorially, the editor of "Better 

 Fruit" advocated packing two grades 

 of apples, stating he believed that 

 growers woulil adopt this practice in 

 the near future. Already the sub.ject 

 has been taken up and is being seri- 

 ously discussed by growers in Yakima 

 districts. The sub.ject has been taken 

 lip for discussion at the conference of 

 the National Apple .Show, but at this 

 date no report has been received of the 

 action taken by the growers at this 

 conference, but this year's experience 

 seems to justify the conclusion pre- 

 viously expressed editorially in "Better 

 Fruit," that it will be wise for the 

 Northwest to discontinue packing so 

 many grades. There seems reason to 

 believe two grades will be sullicient. 

 Of course the first grade should be 

 Extra Fancy. This grade should be 

 packed strictly in accordance with the 

 present grading rules. The standard of 

 Extra Fancy must be maintained abso- 

 lutely. It seems to the eihtor that the 

 Fancy and C grade can be combined 

 in one grade, either to be called 

 "Fancy" or, preferably, ".Standard," 

 wliich has been suggested in Yakima. 

 If two grades are to be packed, then 

 the two grades should take all that are 

 packed as Fancy and a reasonable pro- 

 portion of C grade, including only that 

 wliich is really first class. The average 

 grower would probably pack out 51) to 

 60 per cent of Extra Fancy, about 30 to 

 40 per cent of Fancy anfl about 10 to 

 20 per cent of C grade. If the crop is 

 well sprayed, free from iiests, then the 

 C grade would probably not exceed 

 10 per cent very much, if any. Con- 

 sequently the grower, in leaving out the 

 poorest of C grade, if he leaves out 

 half of them, would only leave out 

 about 5 per cent of the entire crop, 

 which would bring better jirices at 

 the vinegar factory then after paying 

 freight to Eastern markets. The other 

 5 per cent of C grade, which would be 



the better apples in the grade, would 

 be only a small proportion of the 

 Standard box, and b\' being combined 

 with the Fancy would not materially 

 affect th« quality of the Standard 

 grade. By combining the best of the 

 C grade with Fancy, calling it Stand- 

 ard or some other suitable name, the 

 grower could afford to make the price 

 on this grade somewhat more reason- 

 able conqiare to the price on Fancy, 

 iluis enlarging the markets. The two- 

 grade plan is suggested editorially in 

 this issue for the purpose of calling 

 attention of all the districts to the mat- 

 ter in order that Ihey may give it 

 proper consideration and come to some 

 agreement before the 1917 apple crop 

 is harvested. 



Shortage of Boxes. — For many years 



apple growers have en,io>ed very com- 

 fortable apple harvesting seasons. Un- 

 fortunately, this year continued severe 

 frosts caused the apples to drop very 

 early, which hurried up the apple-pick- 

 ing season. Owing to a shortage of 

 cars, growers were unable to get boxes 

 as required, consequently many of the 

 growers were seriously delayed in their 

 picking and lost very severely from 

 dropping. Another reason for the 

 shortage of boxes was that growers, 

 when the apples began to fall, picked 

 so much more rapidl>- than in previous 

 years, many stopping packing alto- 

 gether, consefpiently many growers 

 required iiO per cent more to hold the 

 crop unpackeil. As they come from the 

 orchard, they usually pack out from 

 (i.T to 70 per cent, which meant, this 

 year, growers had to have an excess 

 of 25 to 50 per cent more boxes than 

 they packed out. Invariable in past 

 seasons growers have put otT hauling 

 boxes out until the beginning of har- 

 vesting. This year the crop overran 

 everyone's estimate, and growers re- 

 quired a great many more boxes than 

 previously ordered. These they were 

 unable to get when the car shortage 

 occured. .\ lesson is to be drawn from 

 the condition that existeil this year. 

 Growers should make more reliable 

 estimates and jirovide themselves with 

 enough boxes to holil their entire crop. 



These should be hauled out early in the 

 season instead of waiting until harvest- 

 ing begins. Harvesting begins in most 

 districts about the first of October. 

 After the first of October this year the 

 increased orders for boxes amounted 

 to about 50 ])er cent in addition to 

 original orders. 



Packing Houses and Warehouses. — 

 Never beftne in the history of the apple 

 industry of the Northwest has a con- 

 dition prevailed like the one of 1910, 

 when the picking season was short- 

 ened by severe frosts, followed later 

 by weather that was in some districts 

 down to 15 and in some districts even 

 below this. iMan>- growers did not have 

 warehouses sullicient to carry their 

 crop, consetiuently a great many grow- 

 were not able to pick their apples be- 

 cause Ihey did not have warehouses to 

 store Iheni in, and most of these were 

 lost by the drop. Such a" season may 

 not occur again for many years, yet on 

 the other hand similar conditions may 

 occur again next >ear; therefore every 

 grower should proviile himself with 

 such accommodalions as are necessary 

 to put his crop uniler protective cover 

 and at the same time protect it from 

 extremely low temiierature, which may 

 occur again early in the season or be- 

 fore the grower woulil liave the entire 

 cropt iKicked out. 



The Quantity of Northwestern .Vpples. 



It is ver\- dillicult at the jiresent time to 

 give very reliable figures on the apple 

 crop of the Northwest for 1910. Ship- 

 ments have been heavy, exceeding last 

 year, up to date, about 10 per cent. Yet 

 the markets have not been glutted and 

 prices have ruleil jjretty fair, generally 

 speaking. While it is true a large quan- 

 tity remains to be disposed of, yet the 

 losses will reduce this quantity, and it 

 is safe to say now that exaggerated 

 predictions in the beginning of the sea- 

 son will probably not be realized, but 

 about as nearly as anyone could make 

 an ofl'-hand guess at the present time 

 it would seem that the crop of the 

 Nftitliwest would be anywhere from 

 15.()(l() to 20,000 cars of shipping apples. 





'^W 



T/ 



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