the business out there to talk al)out and say a few words on 

 each of these, rather than to talk generally covering all the 

 ground. 



I was naturally looking for their handicaps as a West- 

 erner would if he came here, lie would comment on our 

 many poorly kept orchards; on our old, decrepit trees; on 

 our poor spraying methods in too many cases and on our 

 poor methods of packing and marketing. No doubt he 

 would see more things to criticise in our methods and con- 

 ditions than I did in theirs. We nuist all admit the wonder- 

 ful progress they have made, a progress Avhich has benefitted 

 the orchard industry of the whole country. But, naturally, 

 as I said, I was looking for the things they had to contend 

 with and these were some of the things that interested me. 



First, the "l)Oom," if we may call it that, and I think 

 it would certainly warrant that name. There is no question 

 whatever that their boom is pretty thoroughly collaiised. I 

 was out there in 1910 and at that time everything was 

 orcharding. Nobody talked anything else. If you went 

 into a drug store, for example, looking for post cards you 

 found every variety of fake (and otherwise) fruit-growing 

 ])ost cards; a man driving a four-horse team hauling an 

 apple on a wagon; a carload of about three apples; a car 

 v.'ith a couple of dozen raspberries on it, and all that sort of 

 thing. And tlie women's hats looked lilce apple boxes or 

 ])each baskets instead of coalhods or dish-pans as they do 

 in our part of the country. (Laughter.) 



You found the leading fruit growers were ])r('sidents of 

 the banks or the street car companies and things like that. 

 They were putting the prices up and liragging a])out their 

 apples selling for 25 cents apiece and ^1.00 a dozen in the 

 ("hicago market. Their customers felt like the man I heard 

 oF recently who bought a pound of Iratter for his wife and it 

 fost him so much that he took it around to the jeweler's 

 and had it engraved before he took it home. That was the 

 feeling everybody had on the apple business at that time. 

 That has entirely changed and I believe it has given way to 



