20 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
the medicinal qualities of fmits, particularly apples, are well 
known. Many little incidents proving this fact have come 
to our notice from time to time. 
For instance, a leading physician in one of the largest 
hospitals in the world recently wrote as follows: “A great 
many sporadic cases of scurvy come to our eyes in the large 
cities. Under adequate acid fruit diet, these cases are 
immediately relieved and eventually cured.” 
Good fruit has been recognized as a natural food by the 
medical fraternity for centuries. We recall one incident 
where a mother once asked the great Alcott how best to rear 
her boys; Alcott replied: “Madam, teach them the Ten 
Commandments and give them all the good ripe apples they 
can eat.” 
Ex-Senator Cockrell, for thirty years United States vSena- 
tor from Missouri, is another well known devotee of the fruit 
diet. For many years the Senator’s mid-day meal consisted 
of a big luscious apple, and thousands of the busiest men in 
the great cities are following his example. Thus, we have 
before us an opportunity as yet practically undeveloped. 
Reduce High Cost of Living 
Not only will the greater consumption of fruit increase 
health, but it will go a long way toward reducing the present 
high cost of living. People of our country can be educated 
to use more fruit products as staple foods, just as they have 
been forced to do in Europe and other countries of the old 
world, where today we find the population eating propor¬ 
tionately a much larger percentage of fruit and vegetable 
products and a much smaller percentage of meat than is con¬ 
sumed here in this country. They are greatly benefitted 
financially and their health is immeasurably better. The 
consumption of more and better fruit by Americans is bound 
to increase our physical strength and health. 
In the writer’s travels in various countries, he has always 
been struck by the exceedingly small quantity of meat con¬ 
sumed by the healthiest citizens of those countries, namely 
the so-called “middle classes.” We must overcome the 
American idea of considering fruit as something of a luxury, 
and when we make the wife and mother realize that good 
ripe fruit is an absolute necessity for the proper rearing of her 
children, then we have largely eliminated doctor’s bills, have 
benefitted the health of the Nation, benefitted ourselves and 
found, at least, one solution of the present high cost of living. 
Practical Application of this Idea 
In a recent issue of one of our leading fruit journals we 
find an article entitled “Two Hundred and Nine Ways of 
Serving the Apple.” The Editor of this valuable paper is to 
be congratulated, for this is a big step in the right direction— 
a true appeal to the housewife. We understand that this 
article is to be published in pamphlet form and a copy 
enclosed in every box of apples sent out by the leading fruit 
growers’ associations. 
By carrying on such a campaign as this in all the fruit 
papers and allied publications, there is absolutely no doubt 
but what fruit consumption can be, in fact, will be, multiplied 
many times, and just to show you the possibilities of such a 
campaign, we doubt if many of you gentlemen, can now 
think of more than a dozen ways to prepare apples; whereas, 
the article just mentioned shows the housewife 209 different 
ways of serving this fruit. The same is more or less true of 
other leading fruits. I simply use the apple as an example. 
Necessary Procedures 
Increased consumption of fruit naturally increases the 
planting of trees, and this is the ultimate object of our future 
activities. 
As we now see it, to accomplish this object, we must do 
three things; 
First, we must solve the problem of supplying every family 
with good ripe fruit at moderate cost. 
Second, we must lower the cost of production. 
Third, we must improve methods of distribution. 
Thus, we see the real problem confronting us is to lessen 
the final cost to the consumer. This can be done—it will be 
done, and that too without lessening the final net profit to 
the orchardist or nurseryman. 
Future Action 
Circumstances will, of course, largely control our future 
actions, but one thing is certain—to succeed in a large way, 
the nurseryman of the future must be progressive—we must 
be just as active in our own line as other food producers, or 
those interested in other lines. 
To show what can be done by an active co-operative cam¬ 
paign take, for instance, patent breakfast foods; The citi¬ 
zens of this country annually pay millions and millions of 
dollars for breakfast foods—all as the result of publicity and 
advertising, for in no other country in the world are breakfast 
foods consumed as a staple food. When you consider the 
immense value of fruit as a food and its health-giving .proper¬ 
ties, I believe you will agree that the American fruit interests 
at the present time do not receive their full share of the 
enormous amount of money spent every year in this country 
for food, simply because the American people consilme, com¬ 
pared to foreign countries, very little fruit. It is the business 
of all fruit interests to see that the coming generation gets 
the habit of eating fruit. That, I believe, is, in a large sense, 
the key to the future success of the nursery business. 
A MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM STARK BROS. 
A fine box of “Delicious” apples were received at the 
office of the National Nurseryman, from Stark Bros. 
Nurseries and Orchards Co., Louisiana, Missouri. 
The fragrance, flavor, appearance and quality of this 
apple makes it a gift fit for a king. It is fittingly named 
“Delicious”. They were thoroughly enjoyed and much 
appreciated. 
The kind wishes accompanying them are heartily recipro¬ 
cated. 
Editor. 
National Nurseryman, 
Enclosed please find check for $1.50 covering subscription of Union 
Nurseries, Oudenbosch, Holland. Kindly acknowledge. 
They write “we find the National Nurseryman very useful, it 
keeps us in touch with our friends over there and we could hardly do 
without it.” Yours truly, 
McHutchison & Co. 
