MARKETING WESTERN BOXED APPLES 51 
Idaho and Utah apples are usually orchard run. Northwestern 
boxed apples are Extra Fancy and Fancy, with the market preference 
for the Fancy grade. Very little C grade stock is sold, except Deli- 
cious. 
SAN DIEGO 
Very few apples of Extra Fancy grade are used in San Diego, as 
the trade will not pay the price which must be obtained for this grade 
of stock. There are as many of C grade sold as of Fancy. Practi- 
cally all the home-grown stock is sold loose in boxes, orchard run. 
The proportions from different sections are estimated as follows: 
Home grown, 10 per cent; Beaumont section, 15; Watsonville, 35; 
Sebastopol, 5; Northwestern, including Utah, 35 per cent. Utah 
apples are a large factor in some years and practically negligible in 
others. Local cold storages report 86,102 boxes stored during the 
season of 1922-23. This is probably about half the total number 
sold here, which would make the capacity of the market about 170,000 
to 180,000 boxes a year. Nearly all sales are direct to retailers. 
SIZES AND GRADES 
As a rule, the markets prefer the medium to large sizes, ranging 
from 138 to 88 apples to the box. There is a fair to good demand 
for very large sizes for display purposes and for the large sizes of 
Rome Beauty for baking. Wor the ee apples, retailers find diffi- 
culty in obtaining prices that show a profit equal to that on medium 
sizes. Small sizes are wanted for export trade and for the general 
market, also late in storage season or when prices are high and the 
retailers are looking for fruit which may be sold at 5 cents or less. 
Extra Fancy and Fancy grades are reported the most popular 
everywhere except In western markets near sources of supply where 
an abundance of low-grade or ungraded stock restricts the sale of top 
grades. Large markets reporting special demand for C grade are 
all in the West and Southwest, and none in the barreled-apple region. 
LOW GRADES AND HOME GROWNS 
It is often contended that apples below Fancy should be kept away 
from distant markets, because usually they yield little return over 
the cost of marketing and tend to restrict and cheapen the market 
for higher grades. The argument becomes stronger with the advance 
of freight charges in recent years and the increased production of 
boxed apples. Probably the development of local markets and the 
rapid increase in the use of western apples in the manufacture of 
by-products will eventually tend to restrict distant shipment of low- 
grade fruit, apart from any cooperative effort in that direction. 
For a few varieties, the Delicious in particular, there is a large de- 
mand for the C grade. On account of the higher level of cost for 
such kinds, this grade is often the only one which can be offered 
consumers at low prices. In such varieties the large sizes of C 
grade are very Baad sellers. Apples of this grade are not very well 
colored and some may be poor also in flavor, because grown on In- 
side branches or in crowded orchards or otherwise without the full 
benefit of the sunshine; but, when possessing the general style of 
a favorite, they often meet a good demand. 
