HOW TO SELL THE CROP OF THE COMMERCIAL ORCHARD. 245 



There was a large crop of Baldwins in the New England states 

 a year ago : I was there buying for a La Crosse house, and I was 

 very much surprised to not only find buyers from our western 

 states, but also from Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky and other south- 

 ern states, which I supposed had plenty of apples. 



The demand for apples at reasonable prices is enormous. The 

 population in our northwestern states in the next twenty-five years 

 will double, and I am sure the people's appetite for Wealthy apples 

 will treble in the same space of time. So don't let us worry, the 

 selling of our apples will always be our least trouble. Produce the 

 apple, and the buyer will be at your door. 



Mr. Philips: Do you ship the Wealthy in half bushel pack- 

 ages? 



Mr. Vollenwejder: Yes, I do. 



Mr. Philips: How large an orchard have you? 



Mr. Vollenweider: I have for a number of years been buying 

 apples within a radius of twenty-five miles of La Crosse. My 

 own orchard is small. I have not shipped many in half bushel 

 baskets; I cannot get the apples fast enough from the farmers. 

 The best way I could do was to first find where I could get the 

 apples and then tell the farmers I would be after them on a certain 

 day, and then I shipped them in barrels. If I had an orchard of 

 my own bearing, I would ship them in half bushel packages, be- 

 cause they will always bring a better price. The farmers are gen- 

 erally at that time just about getting to stacking grain, and they 

 will not take time to take their apples to market or get them ready, 

 no matter what you offer for them; and when they do get ready 

 they will not keep long, and you strike a poor market. If a man 

 has Borovinka or Duchess that come in late he had better wait a 

 little, and then he can strike a good market, but every other year 

 you must ship either early or late. 



Mr. Philips: They generally bring them to La Crosse with 

 four or five kids on top of the sacks. 



Mr. Blair: The method I have adopted of selling the Duchess 

 is to watch the apples, and as soon as the seeds begin to turn we 

 get our pickers and begin with them. We never wait for them to 

 ripen as the smaller growers do. I usually have mine all picked 

 and shipped before the farmers think of picking theirs. 



A standard apple box has been adopted by the Inland Empire 

 Horticultural Association of Washington. The box is to contain 

 2241 cubic inches of space and will be made in two shapes in order 

 to conform to the different varieties of apples. One size will be iox- 

 11x20*4 inches inside measure and the other will be io>4xiixi8 

 9-16 inches inside measurement. The official standard adopted by 

 the association is slightly over a bushel. Each box of apples is to 

 be branded "One bushel." The next legislature will be urged to 

 adopt such a standard by law, coupling therewith a penalty for using 

 any other. — O. J. Farmer. 



