Importance and History of the Apple Industry 13 



commercial apple crop. Should the apple-grower be able 

 to duplicate even in part the distributing methods used 

 in the citrus industry, it becomes apparent that he might 

 share in the increased demand for high-grade fruit. The 

 sale of oranges has increased in recent years more rap- 

 idly than population. Many potential consuming centers 

 are represented in towns which can no longer depend on 

 good apples from nearby farms, but are as yet scarcely 

 touched by the present system of distribution. These 

 will eventually be supplied and will absorb a large amount 

 of high-grade fruit, even though at the present time a 

 demand for such a product seems relatively slight. 



Storage facilities now established in all large consuming 

 centers have played a most important part in developing 

 city trade. The extension of storage facilities and better 

 methods of distribution represent one of the favorable 

 factors in the outlook for the commercial apple industry. 



7. Improved cultural methods. 



There has been a great improvement in eVery phase of 

 orchard management. Improved methods of spraying, 

 pruning, cultivating, and the like have made possible the 

 production of high-grade fruit. Orchard management 

 has probably reached its highest development in the 

 Northwest. Careful orchard management is expensive, 

 but there is compensation in increased yield, which is the 

 big factor in reducing cost production a unit. The com- 

 mercial grower has been able to produce high-grade fruit 

 economically, sell it at good prices and outstrip his more 

 careless neighbor or the producer of inferior apples. In 

 other words, keen competition is forcing the home or- 

 chard and semi-commercial fruit off the market. 



