MARKETING WESTERN BOXED APPLES 79 
these are far more than offset by the exports to that country. Bar- 
reled Gravensteins from Nova Scotia and standard varieties of boxed 
apples from British Columbia are a feature, some seasons, in our 
northeastern markets. Both lines are of excellent general quality 
and sell high in their respective classes. Of the 897,000 barrels, in- 
cluding boxes computed as barrels, exported from Canada to the 
United States in the eight years, 1917 to 1923, according to Canadian 
reports, the general tendency has been toward increase, but the 
average imports from Canada in barrels and boxes, all reported as 
barrels, were only the equivalent of 187 cars per year. Miscellane- 
ous imports are from Australia and other countries of the Southern 
Hemisphere with main shipping seasons in the summer months. 
SUMMARY 
In production of apples, the United States is the leading country. 
Apple consumption may be considered in some sense a Measure of 
national prosperity and well-being. The box-apple product, some- 
times about one-half the market supply, represents the highest de- 
velopment of skill and specialized methods applied to this fruit. 
The boxed-apple industry is distinct in general location, in the 
classes of apples and leading varieties grown and in prevailing methods 
of production, handling, packing, and marketing. Boxed apples in 
consuming centers are distributed through fairly distinct lines of 
trade and mainly to special classes of consumers. 
The great points of advantage are the heavy and fairly regular 
annual yields, the large size, high color, good handling quality, and 
smooth finish of the fruit. These qualities are explained as caused 
by a favorable climate and skill of the growers. 
he six-year average commercial production preceding 1924 was 
nearly three-fourths that of the barrel region. The western boxed- 
apple region includes 11 States, but Washington had averaged over 
half the combined production. 
In 1923 the boxed-apple region produced nearly one-half the total 
commercial apple crop, or about 50,000,000 bushels. Nine-tenths of 
the boxed-apple crop was in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Cali- 
fornia; about three-fifths in Washington alone. 
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho are termed ‘‘the Pacific Northwest 
apple region,” and their production, which constitutes the greater 
part of the boxed winter-apple supplies in eastern markets, is referred 
to as ‘‘northwestern boxed apples,’ while the more general term is 
‘““western boxed apples.”’ : 
The largest and most highly developed producing sections in the 
various parts of the boxed-apple region are the Wenatchee, Yakima, 
Spokane, and Walla Walla districts in Washington; the Hood River 
and Rogue River districts in Oregon; Payette and Boise Valleys in 
Idaho; the Watsonville and Sebastopol districts in California; the 
Grand and Gunnison Valleys in Colorado; the Provo and Tremonton 
districts in Utah; and the Pecos Valley in New Mexico. 
Essentials of apple handling and packing are: (1) To pick at the 
right time, (2) to handle carefully, (3) to grade uniformly, and (4) 
to pack properly. The system of sorting, grading, and packing 1s 
highly specialized and developed in the northwest. Shipment Js 
largely in refrigerator cars. 
