140 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
IS BEN DAVIS DOOMED? 
Missouri Man Says This Apple is Selling at But Little More 
Than Half What Better Varieties are Bringing—De¬ 
mand for Ben Davis Has Excluded Better 
Sorts—Warning to Nurserymen. 
It is for nurserymen to judge of the importance to their in¬ 
terests of a note of warning issued by P. M. Kiely, of St. 
Louis, who, in a comm inication to Colman’s Rural World, 
under date of October 14th says : 
“ The current receipts of apples in this and other leading 
markets of the West at present, and for some time past, show 
that over nine-tenths of the receipts are of the Ben Davis 
variety. On last Saturday four boats unloaded on our levee 
10,000 barrels of apples—fully three-fourths of them from Illi¬ 
nois, and the remainder from Missouri. A canvas of the sub¬ 
ject among the receivers disclosed the fact that 9,500 barrels 
were Ben Davis ; and railroad receipts show a similar record. 
Now this proportion is out of all reason, greatly to the detri¬ 
ment of the apple industry, and an injury to the growers at large. 
“For years the Ben Davis has been found a profitable apple 
from a commercial standpoint, and this has led to a heavy run 
on the nurserymen for such trees. The demand not only con¬ 
tinued without abatement, but rapidly increased to the exclu¬ 
sion of all the better sorts, and we are thus confronted with 
the startling fact that a large number of the best varieties 
grown had to give way to one of the poorest varieties, an 
apple hardly fit to eat or cook, and yet every market in the en¬ 
tire Southwest is now flooded with it. The inevitable result is 
at last before us, and the Ben Davis is now selling at figures 
that average only a trifle over half what the better sorts are 
bringing. 
“ To illustrate, let us quote some of Saturday’s sales, when the 
receipts were the largest and prices the lowest of the season. 
While really choice Ben Davis could be had on the levee or 
railroad depots at $i 50 a barrel, we saw a lot of fancy Hunts¬ 
man’s Favorite from H. L. Graff, Murphysboro, Ill., that sold 
at $3.50 a barrel, and another lot, same variety, from same 
shipper to-day, at $3.25 per barrel. The average sales, how¬ 
ever, of this variety were $2.50 to $2.75. Grimes’ Golden and 
Jonathan, $2 to $2.75 Rome Beauty and Willow Twig, $2 to 
$2.50, Winesap, Northern Spy, Missouri Pippin, Gano and 
similar sorts about $2 per barrel. 
“ A more discouraging future is still in store for the Ben 
Davis, for most of the orders coming in now for apples request 
no more Ben Davis. Even the country ^merchant, who orders 
only five to ten barrels, almost invariably adds : ‘ Don’t send 
me any Ben Davis.’ Thus much lower prices for it seem 
assured, while the other sorts, so much more desirable, will 
not suffer by the general decline, because they are wanted by 
the trade everywhere. 
“Three-fourths of the receipts are now purchased by the 
speculators for future markets. The cost of cold storage (50 
cents a barrel tor the season) is unfortunately as much on this 
common apple as on the finest varieties grown, and when we 
add the two drayages involved (going and coming) we have 
60 cents to add to the low prices prevailing now for the best 
grades of Ben Davis $1.50 per barrel, and withdrawn from 
storage we have as first cost $2.10 a barrel, a sum many of the 
speculators declare they will not bring. 
“ Most of the Southern cities, hoodwinked for years by the 
size and color of the Ben Davis, are realizing at last that there 
are much better apples and the consumers are willing to pay 
more for them, and this variety is gradually but surely finding 
its proper level of value. Nurserymen everywhere should pre¬ 
pare for the future through smaller supplies of the much lauded 
Ben Davis, and for more of the better sorts. The agricultural 
journals should also give timely warning to their readers—the 
fruit growers, to the nursery trade and others interested—and 
inform them that public taste is improving, that the Ben Davis 
is doomed, and even for commercial purposes losing caste. 
The only hope in the future for the Ben Davis is in short crops 
or great scarcity of apples—when nothing better can be had.’’ 
IIS THE SOUTH . 
Demand for Stock Was Never Heavier—In Two Months One Firm 
Refused Orders for Five Million Peach Trees for 
This Season’s Delivery—Heavy Call for 
Apple and Kieffer Pear. 
Snow Hill, Md., Oct. 18.—W. M. Peters’ Sons : “ It is a 
very busy time with us. Sales have been very satisfactory for 
this fall’s delivery, especially in peach. Not commenced to 
ship yet, but getting ready. In our opinion the demand for 
peach exceeds that of the past year, and if there is not a big 
shortage of trees to fill this demand, they must have them out¬ 
side of this state or adjoining states. We had to call a halt in 
accepting orders, especially in quite a number of varieties. 
We think we have all the orders booked that we can possibly 
get off or deliver this fall. 
“ We were very much disappointed in the quantity of peach 
that we thought we had when we completed our count. We 
hope, however, to have possibly 100,000 peach for spring, but 
can not tell what the grade or varieties will be until through 
with our fall delivery. 
“ Upon the whole it looks to us like a very prosperous season 
for the nurserymen generally, judging from the orders that are 
offered us from all over the United States.” 
Augusta, Ga., Oct. 9.—L. A. Berckmans : “ Demand for 
nursery stock was never heavier, and in the past two months 
we have refused orders for over five million peach trees lor 
this season’s delivery. 
“I have just returned from an extended trip to the east 
where I visited over one hundred of the leading nursery and 
floral establishments. Without exception every one spoke 
most encouragingly of the prospects for a lively business the 
coming season. We have no complaint to make at this end of 
the line.” 
Berlin, Md., Oct 18.—J. G. Harrison & Sons: “The de¬ 
mand is good for all grades of nursery stock we handle, 
especially peach, apple and Kieffer pear. We have all we can 
do to hustle our orders off on time.” 
Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 20.—D. W. Hunter, Chatta¬ 
nooga Nurseries: “Sales have been very good with us this 
fall, especially on one year and June bud peach. Owing to 
the unusually dry summer one year apple and June bud peach 
have not made as good growth as could expect. We have 
surplus two year apple in most varieties. As a whole the 
season has been a very satisfactory one for the nurserymen of 
this section.” 
