The Russellville Democrat., 1883-05-17


= I've been In the apple business Tor
thirty years. an old dealer In the vicin.
ity ol Washington Market said, and !
don't remember that ever saw all sorts
OF apples SO scarce and high, OF this sea-
son Of the year, as they are now. GU
see the general crop fell short. In
NIAGARA and Orleans Counties, about
Rochester, and all up that way, where
New York can in most years calculate
on getting great many good apples,
hard frost killed every blossom IN one
night In other places. fortunately, i
wasn't quite so bao. but it was bad
enough all over. And now New York
is drawing her supply OF apples from
wider range OF territory than ever be-
fore to get what she requires, or as near
to it as she can. They are coming in
considerable quantities from Missouri,
out about ST. Joe and that way, and
from Illinois. AMI Michigan, and Cana
da. and Vermont, and mound Lake
Champlain. and the St Lawrence,
and the middle of the State OF
New York. About the best come
rom the Lake Champlain re-
gion this year They are generally
Spitzcnbergs, Haldwins, Greetings and
Gillyilowers The pretty little Snow
apples come mostly from Canada, and
some from Northern New York. The
best Kings, the most delightful apple
for taste just now, we get from Tomp-
kins County. but they are general IA
vorite, and are grown all over the coun-
try. Saratoga and Albany counties and
the Thousand Islands have thrown in
good many nice apples this year of al
most all sorts you can name.
..As for prices, they are away up, and
are going to be clear beyond the reach
of good many people before next
spring. They should not be worth
more now than 50 to 80. so a barrel, the
latter the outside price-except for very
prime fancy fruit. But they are. Eald-
wins, Greetings and GillyHowers are
worth 81 barrel; Shows, $5, and
Spitzenbergs and Kings. IS to 81, ac-
cording to size and quality. That, you
understand. is in small lots of say ten
to twenty barrels. The retailer expects
to make from so 10 70 cents barrel on
that, selling by the quart and peck. and
so on, in stores, and when they are
worked off singly or by twos and threes
from street stands, that profit may be
doubled at least.
but, talking about high prices, look
at the Newtown Plppins. Choice prime
ones packed for export to Europe are
worth $50 barrel, and by spring they
will be ND to nobody knows where. for
they are scarce. | have never seen
them higher but once. That was dur
ing the war, in 1868 or 1864 think,
when they ran up to S25 barrel. And
il i, -
Another apple that is going to be high
in the spring is the Northern Spy. You
have got 10 keep them until spring to
bring out their virtues. and then they
stand away up, if not quite at the head
Last spring they sold for SO barrel,
and this coming spring they will be
worth much more. | have no doubt,
unless people stop buying apples alto
gether, which | don't suppose they viii.
for there's always a sort of folks who
will have what they want, no
matter what it costs. And if there s
anything man should hum6r himself
in It is in good apple. 1t is not
only a delicious but most healthful
thing. If people would eat an apple or
two each before breakfast every dar,
they would prolong their lives more than
they have any idea OF, and good many
doctors would have to walk who now
ride in their carriages. It's funny how
people in tropical climates love apples.
+ We seen them in South American and
the West India Islands pay ten cents
each, gladly, for apples not worth more
than cent apiece here, when right
alongside of them fine oranges went
a-begging at about ten cents a dozen.
But do you know that they have down
there, in some parts, banana, that
they call the manxana, or apple banana.
the flavor and perfume of which is ey-
actly that of delicious ripe apple?
I've never seen them here at all. The
most OF the bananas that come here ere
what they know in the tropics as h'...o,
or jackass bananas, Dig, iiavorless
things. IN Y San.