464 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



$1,000 to $2,000 an acre for developed orchards, and they are now 

 holding the bag. The apple growers are little better off as they are 

 having great difficulty in disposing of their crop at remunerative 

 prices. The cost of picking, grading, packing and hauling apples to 

 the cars is about thirty cents a box — forty cents where a long haul 

 is necessary. Apples of commercial varieties are worth from 60c to 

 $1 a box according to grade, and out of this will have to come the 

 apple association's commission of five per cent. The preseni method 

 of grading favors the dealer more than the grower, and as no small 

 apples are wanted in the grades, many unmarketable apples under 

 the present system are a total loss. INlany orchardists market but 

 half their crop for this reason. The freight rates are sc high that 

 it is unprofitable to ship this inferior fruit, and so millions of people 

 are denied eatable apples because freight rates are prohibitive. 



The freight rate on coal is forty cents a ton from Colorado coal 

 fields to Nebraska and Kansas points. That is two cents a hundred 

 pounds. For shipping apples from western Colorado to Denver the 

 rate is 55c a hundred pounds. The distances are the same, but the 

 rate is more than twenty times as much. But now let us take pota- 

 toes. The rate is 45c a hundred to Denver, and potatoes are shipped 

 in cars but little more expensive than coal cars. The rate is twenty- 

 two times as much as on coal. Now the rate on honey is $1.40 a 

 hundred from southwestern Colorado to Denver, and 85c a hundred 

 on honey from western slope points to Denver, or seventy times and 

 forty-two times as much as on coal a like distance. The local rate 

 on honey is $2.15 a hundred pounds from southwest Colorado. You 

 can see the rate on honey is two to three times as much as upon 

 apples, and they are shipped in the same kind of cars. The rail- 

 road's charge is not according to cost of carrying, but what the traf- 

 fic will bear. 



A producer on the western slope was told by a freight agent 

 (to whom he was complaining of the shortage of cars) that his in- 

 terests were served as well as those of any other non-competitive 

 point. You see the railroads have plenty of cars, even during the 

 heavv crop moving period, at the points where there is competition. 



W. F. 



Coming Conventions. Ohio — Columbus, Jan. 14 and 15. 



^ , , T-^ T^ ,„ in National — Cincinnati, Feb. 12 and l,"^. 



Colorado — Denver, Dec. 12 and 1.3. 



Iowa — Des Moines, Dec. 12 and 13. 



Michigan — Lansing, Dec. 12 and 13. — 



Wisconsin — Madison, Dec. 17 and 18 



New York State — Rochester, Dec. 1 



Chicago Northwestern-Chicago, Dec. W ^' ^^RRAY will tell in an early 



19 and 20. IX* issue how he handles 11 apiaries 



Massachusetts State — Worcester, in three counties. Send in your renewal 



Jan. 11. promptly so as not to miss this article. 



