The herald., 1893-10-29

the entire crop early IN the summer,
and generally come Los Angeles firm
secured the whole. Last year the Ger
main Fruit company bought the crop,
paying ~ and 81 cents respectively
for hard and soft shells. The entire
shipment of the section from this
depot amounted to 81 carloads, net
ting the growers over $l06 900 in
hard coin. All but 10 carloads of this
was shipped by the association, netting
over $9i 900. This year the local dealers
combined against the association and
refused to handle the nuts save on COM
mission. This commission racket" as
worked by these same firms in handling
our oranges last season, did not prove
altogether satisfactory, as our hard
working ranchers naturally expect, when
they sell crop, to receive something in
return besides unpaid freight billie. So
they would not sell on commission,
but instead sent their secretary,
Mr.. j. A. Montgomery, back
to Chicago and other points, to
'look into the business" With the a.
sistance OF Chicago and San Fran
cisco firm he soon arranged for the de-
livery OF the entire crop at handsome
figure. Already SO carloads have been
shipped, bringing the association over
$36 900, and orders are coming in every
day.
In the meantime, fruit company OF
Los Angeles, not approving OF the in
dependence OF our people, started out
to 'break up the association" Its
agent vent from one member to an
other with false statements, trying to
shake their faith in the association.
Hearing of the efforts of the Anaheim
and Fullerton people to form an associa-
tion, they went down at once and as
sured them that the Rivera association
had 'gone to piecesY and that they had
bought nearly all the nuts OF this Sec
tion and did all they could to prevent
an organization. Investigation proved.
however, that not a single man had
withdrawn from this association. go
they went ahead and organized. This
firm then printed circulars and dis
tributed them broadcast through the
east, offering to undersell this associa-
tion, and has resorted to
every mean, underhanded device it
could "hatch out" to prevent the asso.
citation disposing OF its crop. But the
nuts are going like hot cakes, neverthe,
less, and at prices go satisfactory that
the ranchers are all delighted with the
new deal and probably will not bother
the Los Angeles company with handling
their crops in the future.
The crop this year is short one, but
the nuts are unusually fine. The
shortage is altogether in the hard shells,
as the soft shell trees were all full. This
10 another valuable point in evidence of
the superiority of the soft shell.
And now, before closing, l wish to
venture suggestion or two to our asso
citation, believing they will not be taken
amiss. In the first place, where there
is 30 much diversity of opinion and
practice, it eeems to me that the i'm
portance of the sulphuring question
would warrant the appointment of a
committee to thorougly Investigate the
matter, determining the advisability,
best methods, etc. Then let all use the
same method and uniform results would
be secured.
+ Secondly-Perfect uniformity in sew.
ing and marking tbs sacks. The asso-
citation trademark is all right, but the
individual growers stick their names OF
initials, come on top. some underneath,
some with a stencil and some with an
old marking brush. The average
rancher is not an expert with marking
brush, and stencils are 40 cheap they
should be universally adopted, and each
man should use his full name, and il
should be placed uniformly in ont
place. then the sacks will all look alike
Again, it strikes me that the frs
grade nuts would look better il agail
separated into two grades, thus securing
greater uniformity in appearance.
Finally. every member should feel
personal responsibility in the reputation
of the association trade mark. Let hin
see to it that his nuts are up toestand
ard. OF the necessity for concert o
action, nothing need be said. The asso
citation holds an enviable position. IT.
trade mark is worth a cent pound q
least to every man who raises walnuts
and as long as the. people here will pull
together, walnut raising will be al
aesured success around Rivera.
We claim that Rivera is the walnu
center OF the state, and we feel tha
writer's on this subject do not recogniz,
this fact. They should know it; the,
could know it if they wished; we be
leve they do know it. Still they per
sist, if they refer to Rivera at all, il
giving figures several years old, whicl
do not begin to represent the impor
tance and size of our shipments. There
an old chestnut about "20 ranches il
and around Downey," printed first som
s or 10 years ago, that appears regularl
in everything published on the subject
even in the last report of the stat
board of horticulture. These 20 ranch
ers live around Rivera. Even Mr. Wayn
Scott, in his long and scientific treats
on The Walnut in California, which az
peared in the Californian for September
barely mentions Rivera, and quotes tn
figures of the shipments of 1891, in
stead OF those of last year, which wer
certainly available to any one. Las
year the Pomona Progress published al
article on the subject, in which it esti
mated the entire crop of the state at l 500
600 pounds, kindly crediting Los Angelo
and Santa Barbara counties with five
sixths of it. AS Rivera alone shippe
within a few pounds of that number, W
feel that che deserved mention. Her
are the figures, as published by tn
Downey Champion, the Los Angelo
Times and the HERALD last year, an
furnised by the secretary of our aseocis
tion: Eighty-two carloads, weighin
l,425, ,S54 pounds, netting over $l06. .0OC
Now it is time that the statistics @
1889 should be relegated 10 the past
and if Mr.. Wayne Scott or anybody els
wishes to write about walnuts, le
him come down here where We rails
walnuts and learn something abou
them, or at least apply to the secretar
of our association, who may not b