1316 
are other parts of the world in which 
markets may be developed besides Eu- 
rope. There is South America, the mar- 
kets of which have been partially de- 
veloped, but which this year (1918) have 
been glutted with Northwestern apples, 
partially due to insufficient cold storage 
accommodations which are necessary be- 
cause of the infrequent steamer service. 
Then there is South Africa, which ap- 
pears to offer a market at certain seasons 
of the year. Australia has been partially 
developed, but the trade is limited on ac- 
count of the insufficient and infrequent 
steamship service. There is some market 
in the Philippines and a small market in 
the Orient. Of the exact conditions in 
some of these markets very little reliable 
information is available, and the exchange 
is now considering the employment of a 
foreign trade commissioner to cover the 
markets of the globe and make a close 
personal study not only of their present 
capacities but of their possibilities. This 
tentative plan of the exchange will be 
put into effect in the near future with 
the approval and support of its co-opera- 
tive membership. Also with the approval 
and support of its members it proposes 
to put into practical working effect next 
season its policies of advertising, exploita- 
tion, education and co-operation all down 
the line straight to the consumer. 
W. F. Gwin, 
Gen Mngr Northwestern Fruit Exchange 
THE HANDLING OF DECIDUOUS 
FRUITS ON THE PACIFIC COAST 
Picking, Packing, Precooling, Ete. 
The fruits classified under the general 
term deciduous fruits are those produced 
by trees which drop their leaves in win- 
ter. They are called deciduous to distin- 
guish them from citrus fruits, which are 
borne on evergreen trees. The fruits 
which come under this designation, and 
which are shipped in a fresh state from 
the Pacific coast, include apples, apricots, 
cherries, peaches, pears, plums (includ- 
ing prunes), nectarines, grapes, and the 
small fruits, such as strawberries,* rasp- 
* While the strawberry holds its leaves 
through the winter, its fruit is similar to the 
deciduous fruits in its shipping requirements, 
and it is therefore classed with them 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
berries, and blackberries. The handling 
problems included in this article refer to 
the preparation of the fruit for shipment 
and for marketing in the fresh condition, 
although the greater part of the deciduous 
fruits grown on the Pacific coast is mar- 
keted not in a fresh condition, but as 
canned and dried fruits of all Kinds, in- 
cluding prunes and raisins. 
There has been an enormous growth 
and development of the deciduous-fruit 
industry on the Pacific coast. Up to 12 
years ago most of this development had 
been in California, where the fresh-fruit 
shipments in 1909 equaled 15,280 carloads, 
but recently the planting of deciduous- 
fruit orchards in the states of Oregon, 
Washington, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah 
has been made on a very large scale. The 
development of these new districts and 
the rapid increase in the production of 
deciduous fruits have alarmed many of 
the growers, especially in California, at 
the possibility of overproduction, and the 
advisability of adopting means to prevent 
further planting, or at least to stop over- 
development and the booming of new re- 
gions by land speculators, has been seri- 
ously discussed. Plans are being made to 
increase the demand for and _  con- 
sumption of these fruits by advertising 
and by the development of new markets. 
It is at last realized that too much atten- 
tion has been given in the past to the 
business of inducing people to plant fruit 
trees and that not enough consideration 
has been given to the selling of the crop 
and to finding a profitable market for the 
fruit that is already on hand. 
Transportation Problems 
The problems connected with the trans- 
portation of deciduous fruits from the Pa- 
cific coast are essentially problems grow- 
ing out of the necessity for wide distribu- 
tion. Ever since the first carload of fresh 
fruit was shipped from California, in 1869, 
the bulk of each crop has had to be mar- 
keted in the Hastern states. It is a re- 
markable fact that this business, built up 
on. the far western edge of the continent, 
has been and will for many years con- 
tinue to be almost wholly dependent upon 
