50 BULLETIN 861, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



As far as the American grape industry goes, the Northwest is 

 self-sufficing, as very few shipments from the outside go into this 

 section and practically all of the stock produced in Washington, 

 Idaho, and Oregon is consumed within the borders of those States. 



As in other important American grape-growing sections, the Con- 

 cord is the leading variety, but the Niagara, Delaware, Goethe, and 

 Catawba are also found, the Catawba extending southward into 

 California. Because the large city markets in this Section are far 

 removed from any other section which ships American grapes, out- 

 side competition is eliminated and the local stock moves easily at 

 satisfactory prices. 



The great bulk of the shipments consist of table stock, which is 

 usually shipped in 4-quart Climax baskets, but a juice factory located 

 at Kennewick, Wash., offers an outlet for much local stock and also 

 receives carlot shipments. 



MARKET PREFERENCE. 



It is a well-recognized fact that different markets often have wide 

 divergent preferences both as to container and as to varieties of the 

 stock they demand, and as the shipment of table grapes will un- 

 doubtedly be increased by the suspension of wine manufacture, the 

 preferences of various markets become an important subject to grow- 

 ers and shippers. This preference is usually the result of custom, 

 in that the trade and the consumer have become accustomed to 

 purchase certain varieties in certain-sized containers and will not 

 purchase stock with which they are not familiar, except at a dis- 

 count. Whether the quantity of bulk stock used in the consuming 

 ' centers will continue to bear the same relation to the movement of 

 table stock that it has in the past, is highly problematical. 



Chicago is, next to New York, probably the heaviest individual 

 receiver of eastern grapes, and the bulk stock passing through this 

 market has nearly equaled the amount of table stock. By far the 

 heaviest receipts upon this market are of Michigan stock, much of 

 which is shipped in by water. Undoubtedly the fact that Michigan 

 uses 4-quart baskets almost exclusively for table stock has led to a 

 marked preference for that type of container, so that the 2-quart 

 package is in very poor demand on this market and sells much below 

 the usual proportionate price of these two sizes in other cities. The 

 standard blue varieties, the Champion, the Moore, and the Concord, 

 are the favorites, in season, the first named selling at the usual 

 marked discount when in competition with other varieties. The 

 Delaware and the Niagara meet a good but A T ery limited demand 

 and command a slight premium when in light supply, which is 

 quickly wiped out by the arrival of any considerable quantity. This 



