The morning call., 1893-05-27
IT LOOKS WELL.
How Best to Market the
Fruit Crop.
The Problem of Economical! Distribu-
tion Discussed by HOrt;cuIturists.
Outlook Over the State.

At a meeting of the State Board of
Horticulture yesterday the most interest
ing topics were the fruit outlook and the
knotty problem of how to market the crop
most economically
President Buck of the California Fruit
Union, who has special means of ascer-
tanning the probable crop Of fruit all over
the State, said he believed the crop will be
fairly good. except as to apricots. Prices
might not be high. as reports enn ounced a
good crop in the East in everything from
apples to grapes.
The so-called June crop of peaches in
California would be late this year and
would not begin to come in until the Goth.
Pears were good; almonds light; prunes a
fair crop, although in Santa Clara County
it was reported that not more than a half
crop could be expected; apricots very
light. San Francisco would take all april
cots grown In Vacaville ana Winters.
Forty-five and fifty dollars had been offered
for apricots in Santa Clara Valley.
In regard TO the Chinese labor question
Mr. Buck thought growers would be able
to get all the labor they wanted this sum-
mer by paving for it. AS to Cinnamon
might be done some time, perhaps, but if
they were, Japs would take their place.
and he didn't think the fruit people would
be any better off then.
paper proposing the distribution of
the crop through committee elected from
different sections of the State provoked
conside, able discussion. Mr.. Bancroft,
the author of the paper, claimed that the
result would be % per cent better prizes
for the grower.
Mr.. Buck agreed that better results
would reward united action in distributing
the fruit, but declared in favor of One-man
power. A manager Laving headquarters,
say at Sacramento. could direct the ship
ments so that the different consignments
would not conflict and compete with one
another. On one occasion he had known
four carloads of cherries to arrive In Chi
cago and To fetch what one ought to have
fetched. Intelligent cooperation In dis
trihution was what was wanted.
Secretary B. M. Lelong claimed that it
was impossible to get the growers to unite
at present. Forty per cent of the crop
WAS in the hands of the commission men.
For instance. the Sacramento River fruit
ranches were generally worked by China
men. The owners contracted with the
Cinnamon to ship all the fruit to certain
commission house, which then pays GER
tain entage to the Cinnamon and the
rest to the owners, deducting their little
commission. These growers could not be
reached. If at any time the growers of
tuc Otdlt WOulu CHulDlu6 tUty ChulU CON-
troll the fruit markets of the world.
In anticipation of fruit convention in
July, when information from The Califor-
MIA Congressman regarding a new tariff
will be gathered, considerable discussion
took place regarding the necessity for pro-
teciing prunes. 1t was said that the COM
petition from France did not begin to COM
pare with that from Germany. Austria.
Hungary and Turkey, whence the casked
''prune eS of commerce" came. Except the
selected prunes. no prune could compare
with the California prune, which required
protection against the imported 'prunes
of commerce" until the superiority of the
California article should be demon strated
to the world.
A paper on pomiculturs was also read,
showing that apples could be grown profit
ably in California.
The subject TO be discussed at the next
Meeting of the board will be '.Summer Ir-
rigation," when papers are expected from
Messrs. Mosier. Rock and Overacker.