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BETTER FRUIT 



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern Fruit Growing and Marketing. 



Published Monthly 



by 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



703 Oregonian Building 

 PORTLAND, OREGON 



Improved Drying Processes. 



In publishing the details of the new 

 fruit evaporator recently perfected at 

 the Experiment Station of the Univer- 

 sity of California at Davis Better 

 Fruit is doing so in the hope that it 

 will prove of benefit to many growers 

 who are somewhat at sea in regard to 

 processing prune and other fruit crops. 

 The great increase in the prune crop in 

 the Pacific Northwest is making it 

 necessary to provide greater and better 

 drying facilities and withal, for growers 

 to secure a dryer at a nominal cost that 

 will handle their crops expeditiously. 



While growers and others who are 

 familiar with driers of various types 

 may not agree with all the statements 

 that Mr. Cruess makes in regard to the 

 apparatus which the University is so 

 highly recommending it should be 

 borne in mind that it has been sub- 

 jected to tests for some time and its 

 nature so fully explained that the 

 grower is not left in the dark. It is 

 also being put before the public to 

 accept or leave alone without cost. 

 Another point is that although growers 

 who are in need of a drier may not 

 wish to use all its features there may 

 be some of them that they might em- 

 body in their present plants at a 

 distinct advantage. 



Saving the Crop. 

 While improvement in labor saving 

 packing house and orchard equipment 

 has probably been slower in coming 

 than in many other lines there are 

 many devices now on the market that 

 mean large savings in handling fruit 

 crops. Yet we are told that it is more 

 or less difficult to get growers to de- 

 part from the old way of doing things 

 and try the new and more economical. 

 In many instances where crops could 

 have been handled with greater rapidity 

 by these new devices and saved, large 

 losses have been sustained through 

 lack of storage, bad weather at harvest- 

 ing time or some other cause. The 

 orchardist who is able to move his crop 

 to market early in the season is playing 

 the safest and most successful game in 

 the fruit business as a rule. Anything 

 that helps in this process therefore 

 should not be neglected and any needed 

 apparatus or equipment will pay for 

 itself many times over. 



The Penalty of Neglect. 

 Neglecting to eradicate or control 

 fruit pests is always disastrous. The 

 fact that the grower may have some 

 insignificant looking insect in his or- 

 chard that does not appear In In' doing 

 any particular damage at the time being 

 is no excuse for his not investigating. 

 A slight infestation this year may mean 

 a very extensive one next year with 



BETTER FRUIT 



attendant heavy losses. In their inves- 

 tigations of diseased or pest infested 

 fruit trees specialists have found almost 

 invariably that had these cases been 

 reported to authorities on the subject 

 at the time of their inception the disease 

 or pest could have been stamped out, 

 many thousands of dollars saved and 

 years of toil avoided. If you have a 

 condition in your orchard fruit that you 

 know is not normal and don't know 

 what it is, consult some one who does. 

 Or if you do know what it is don't 

 negect it. 



The Transportation Problem. 



Continued reports of an expected 

 shortage in cars to handle the fruit crop 

 during the heavy shipping season this 

 year make it imperative that no step 

 be neglected to avoid such a contin- 

 gency if possible. For shipments to 

 nearby points considerable help in this 

 direction can undoubtedly be secured 

 by establishing motor truck lines as is 

 being done in the East. At least this is 

 a point that may well be considered by 

 shippers in their efforts to reduce to 

 the minimum the number of cars needed. 

 By investigating the possibilities of 

 utilizing to some extent this mode of 

 shipment in each of the fruit shipping 

 territories it is more than probable that 

 fruit transportation can be greatly 

 aided. 



As the large bulk of Northwestern 

 tree fruits, however, are destined for 

 far away points we again wish to call 

 attention to the advisability of organ- 

 izing committees, or other bodies, or 

 securing individuals to take charge of 

 the matter of the car situation at an 

 early date. If nothing else is accom- 

 plished the information that will be 

 secured will be of vast benefit to both 

 shippers and growers in regard to crop 

 movements and in providing storage. 



Fruit Picking Prices. 



In California fruit picking prices are 

 are not a matter of individual bargain- 

 ing. Organization largely rules in this 

 as in other phases of the fruit industry. 

 It is therefore interesting to read the 

 following item taken from the Cali- 

 fornia Fruit News: 



"A meeting of growers in Santa Clara 

 Valley, who are members of the Farm 

 Owners and Operators Association 

 there, met recently in San Jose, and after 

 a discussion of the question of wages 

 for fruit pickers and orchard help this 

 year, passed a resolution establishing 

 the wage scale at 50c an hour. The 

 resolution provides that there is to be 

 no overtime paid and that the wage is 

 50c straight for whatever number of 

 hours the worker may be employed or 

 work. This makes it unnecessary to 

 determine a day's work, as conditions 

 vary from day to day and orchard to 

 orchard in this regard. The orchardists 

 expressed the opinion that the help 

 available was as sufficient and efficient 

 at that price as under any other condi- 

 tions. The same organization has 

 chapters in other counties and uniform- 

 ity of action in this regard is expected 

 to prevail." 



August, 1920 



Mechanics and Agriculture. 

 It would seem that some of the hard 

 grind that has made the life of the 

 fruitman during the period of cultiva- 

 tion and spraying not of the pleasantest, 

 may be eliminated to some extent. The 

 coming of the tractor has greatly helped 

 in the matter of cultivation and now 

 the combining of the tractor with the 

 sprayer bids fair to still more lessen 

 the work of one of the most disagree- 

 able tasks in an orchard. Gradually 

 the inventor and the expert mechanic 

 are bringing to all phases of agriculture 

 the benefits of labor-lessening motive 

 power. It is not too much therefore to 

 expect in the future that with the ex- 

 tension of most of the city conveniences 

 to the farm and orchard the tide of 

 human endeavor will be toward the 

 soil instead of away from it. With the 

 joining hands of mechanics and agri- 

 culture no one can foretell how the 

 model farm or orchard may be con- 

 ducted in the years to come and not so 

 many years at that. 



What They Say About 

 Better Fruit 



I am sending you today money order for one 

 year's subscription to Better Fruit. If collec- 

 tion by post should not be possible will you 

 please remind me when I should renew my 

 subscription and I will send the money at once, 

 for I cannot afford to miss this fine magazine. 

 — W. Schnyder, Uttewyl, Switzerland. 



Received the numbers of Better Fruit and 

 wish to state that the article on spray vs. dust 

 for codling molh control was worth more to 

 me than the price of the paper for a decade. 

 I was on the fence in regard to the methods to 

 be employed until I read this article through 

 thoroughly. I can now begin our codling moth 

 spraying in a few days with a duster and 

 power sprayer both at my command and do 

 the work intelligently. I enclose my check for 

 the year. — W. G. Yeager, Taylorsville, North 

 Carolina. 



Mr. Baker, one of our directors, reported to 

 a recent meeting of our directors the kindness, 

 consideration and assistance which you so 

 kindly afforded him during the time he was in 

 London and New York. We beg to assure you 

 that your courtesy was not only appreciated by 

 Mr. Baker, but also by our directors, and we 

 beg to convey to you their best thanks. — The 

 Wargundy Orchards, Limited, Bloemfontein, 

 South Africa. 



Former address Fremont, Michigan. This 

 position which I now hold here was procured 

 by advertising in Better Fruit, and I want to 

 thank you for the great assistance you have 

 given me. — Alton M. Porter, Marble, Washing-, 

 ton. Former address Fremont, Michigan. 



Under separate cover I am sending you some 

 information about our apple show. I visited 

 Oregon several years ago and retain very pleas- 

 ant recollections of it. I take your paper and 

 find it very interesting and full of useful infor- 

 mation. — L. M. Shootridge, Hobart, Australia. 



Will you kindly forward me some informa- 

 tion in regard to combatting the apple leaf 

 hopper and the woolly aphis. If my subscrip- 

 tion is in arrears please lei me know and 1 will 

 send check. I also w Mi to say thai your paper 

 has been of much help to me i n solving the 

 problems of the fruit business and I wish lo 

 express my deep appreciation oi your valued 

 publication. — W. Clark McGinnls, Orondo, 

 Washington. 



Nobody begrudges the retailer a reasonable 

 profit on perishable goods but when he can 

 buy a crate of onions for less than $2 and 

 sell them at $7.50 it looks like he's serving 

 himself better than he is (he public. — The 

 Packer. 



