Page 8 



BETTER FRUIT 



January 



Seventh National Apple Show and Fruit Products Congress 



THE Seventh Niitioniil Apple SIkiw 

 and Fruit Products Congress, held 

 at Spokane in November, was 

 epoch-making because it brought about 

 the lirst concrete and oi'ganized ell'orl 

 to utilize the surplus fruits and vege- 

 tables of the Pacific Northwest by the 

 manufacture of by-products. Two years 

 ago the Spokane Apple Show provided 

 the medium foi- the co-operative organ- 

 ization of growers under the standard 

 of the North Pacific Fruit Distributors. 

 .Some will argue that V.)U ushered in a 

 movement of even greater importance 

 than the co-operative marketing of 

 fresh fruits. At all events, all agree 

 that both subjects are of great moment, 

 and the important thing is that a start 

 was made toward converting an aston- 

 ishingly large item of loss to the profit 

 side of the ledger when the men assem- 

 bled at the api)le show decided to get 

 busy at once to find a solution of the 

 problem. Out of the mass of discussion 

 on the memorable TbuiS(la\ , .November 

 1!), there emerges the fact that the fol- 

 lowing ten men were appointed to form 

 a central b\-prodiicls organization: H. 

 M. Sloan, Bitter Hoot, Montana: P. .\. 

 Weyrauch, Walla Walla: (1. C. Corbaley. 

 Spokane; Conrad Hose. Wcnatchce: 

 Alexander Miller, North Yakima: W. 11. 

 Paulhamus, Puyalhip; Truman Butler, 

 Hood Hiver; I). A. Snyder, Dayton, Ore- 

 gon; .1. H. Holt, Kugene, Oregon; M. .f. 

 Hisley, Payette, Idaho. 



The appointment of the "Big Tvn" 

 was the sequel to the adoption by the 

 conferees of the fcdiowing resolution: 

 ■■Resolved, that we recommend to the 

 by-products convention that a board of 

 ten be appointed, repiescnting the dif- 

 leient fruit producing districts of the 

 .N'oithwest, with power to act in the 

 formation of a by-ijroducts organiza- 

 tion along the general lines recom- 

 mended by the by-products conuuittee, 

 including such effort as they may find 

 practical to bring the i)resent fresh 

 fruit selling agencies into nioie harmo- 

 nious action, and to take such addi- 

 tional action as the board may deem 

 wise. Resolved, that as soon as po.s.si- 

 ble the permanent lepresentative of 

 each district be referred to the growers 

 and by-products institutions of each 

 district in such a manner as the board 

 shall desire. Resolved, that the new 

 board be selected by a conunittec con- 

 sisting of H. C. Sampson, W. II. P;uil- 

 liamus and F. E. Sickels."" 



This action was not taken on snap 

 judgment or without full knowledge of 

 present conditions and future contin- 

 gencies. The conference already had 

 received a comprehensive report from 

 H. C. Sampson of Spokane, former sec- 

 retary of the North Pacific Fruit Dis- 

 tributor.s — a report based on a year's 

 survey of Northwestern orchards and 

 farms by a committee of which Mr. 

 Samijson was chairman. Some of the 

 things this committee found arc worth> 

 of mention. For instance, Mr. Sampson 

 reijorted a total fruit acreage in the 



liy Ui>hi-H S. I'llillips, Spokillli-. \\;isllillBt(Hl 



Northwest of ()().5,()0(l acres, which 

 would ijroduee ultimately l,')(l,(l(l(l cars 

 of fruit, of which tfie railroads could 

 furnish ;^(),(I00 cars and 2(1,000 cars 

 could be stored in the Northwest, leav- 

 ing a total of 1(10,000 cars to be cared 

 for in by-i)roducts plants. In 1014, ac- 

 cording to the report, of 12,000 cars of 

 appfes in the Northwest, .■>,050 cars 

 were combined "C" grade and five-tier 

 fruit not large enough or good enough 

 to be wisely salable. 



■'Growers must adjust their ideas 

 away from the basis of the high prices 

 of a few years ago to a basis of modest 

 profit on carefully tended, ccononiicalh 

 managed orchards," said Mr. Sampson. 

 "The vital factor is the conservation of 

 high grade fruit and the assurance of a 

 reasonable price for green fruit. Mon- 

 tana docs not have a single cannery or 

 evaporator within her territory. Never- 

 theless during 1013 Montana impoiied 

 (i0,000 cases of canned fruit, 70 per cent 

 of which was jjcaches and pears. She 

 imported 40 cars of ajjple cider vinegar 

 and 20 cars of sweet cider. She im- 

 ported 125,000 cases of tomatoes, 75,00(1 

 corn, ()0,0()0 jjeas and 25,0(10 beans, or a 

 total of 285,000 cases of canned vegeta- 

 bles. No figures are obtainable as to 

 her imjjortations of dried and evapor- 

 ated fruits and vegetables. Idaho in 

 1913 shipped out 175 tons of dried 

 ajjples, 50 of dried prunes, 75 of other 

 dried fruits, 25 of canned berries, 100 

 of canned peaches, 25 f)f canned rhu- 

 barb and 50 of beans, but iluiing that 

 same year the same state imported 185 

 tons of dried apples, 75 of dried prunes, 

 150 of dried |)eaches, 100 of other dried 

 fruits, and 050 of canned fruits and 

 vegetables. Her imports were a total of 

 0() tons greater than her total exports. 



Oui' present needs in the lour stales, as 

 shown by excess of imports over ex- 

 ports, the natural heavy inci'ease of 

 by-products consumption, as shown by 

 the report of the committee, and the 

 success of the State of California, all 

 indicate a large output possible from 

 the Northwest at fair prices for our 

 own manufactured products. Through 

 the co-operation of our own railroads, 

 wholesalers, retailers and bu\iug-at- 

 honie leagues; by the stinuilation of 

 luiuber camp trade, and with our jjres- 

 ent home and .Maskan needs, surely we 

 can increase our consum)>tion rnate- 

 riallv in our own home territorx. The 

 committee finds a number of surprising 

 things. Much fruit goes to waste in 

 man.\ Northwestern towns and cities, 

 and the same variety of fruit, canned 

 or evaporated in California, is found 

 on the merchants' shelves in these same 

 villages, .\nnually California imports 

 great iiuantifies of Royal .\nn cherries 

 for maraschinos, imports hundreds of 

 tons of Oregon |)ears, and exports back 

 to this country and the ('anadian terri- 

 torx this same fruit. Some districts let 

 hundreds of Ions of apples go to waste 

 and import every pint of vinegar they 

 use. (]orn canned in the West is 

 shipped to the East and returned under 

 l^astern labels. Vinegar of the West is 

 shi]Ji)ed in barrels to the East, put into 

 cases, returned to the Northwest and 

 sold at four times the price it was 

 bought for. .\n(l all these products are 

 from our own home states but bear a 

 foreign label, thus losing to us the ad- 

 vertising value. California sujiplies the 

 dried and canned fruit largely for our 

 own states and the territory north of 

 us. She uses thousands of tons of peach 

 seeds, the kernels being processed and 



Miiindialin, tlie iiiii>|U(' exiiihit of Mrs. Edith .\. Piniidllt, Kairflold, WashiiiKlon, winniiiK soroiid 

 prize of .^100 :uiloMf4 ori^innl fcallu'cs entered l)y individuals at the Seventh National Apple Show 



