The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-01-17
according to the age of the trees and the

according to the age of the trees and the
care received
While the price of Washington prunes
was lower this year than ever before still
the increase in crop paid the grower as
much as his returns were in preyious
years, when the fruit commanded a much
higher price. The fact of lower prices
this season does not indicate an over
stocked market, but rather that the condi-
tons OF the country were such that all
natural products bore the same relative
reouctlon to previous values as did prunes.
Again, the development of the Italian
prune, which is distinctive in every par
tcular from that of the prune grown in
California, has not yet acquired the digni-
W or being able to make a market for it.
sel1' out must, in a measure, depend upon
the market for California and French
prunes. This detriment is but temporary
1or, as the Introduction of these prunes
keeps apace with the development of the
business, then will the fixed value of
prunes depend on the prune itself, and on
no other cause. When the italian prune
advances to the dignity Of being accorded
value in keeping with it's quality it will
bring considerably more than prunes grown
In California or other districts
Already the result of the marketing of
this years crop is showing ITSELF and T
nave every reason to believe that the sea-
son of 1896 will witness the attainment of
fixed value of Italian prunes. Last years
crop was an immense increase over preyi-
Gus years, and the same was spread
throughout the many different markets of
the country where it would bring the
greatest returns, considering not only the
market price received for the fruit, but
the good to be derived on future business
Many markets have been inaccessible
from the fact that the supply hitherto was
wholly insufficient to create a knowledge
and demand for our particular variety
The Washington italian prune for quail
dty flavor and size cannot be equaled. The
quality is very rich, and as testified to by
number of prominent gentlemen in the
East when properly cooked they remind
one of the rich, old-fashioned plum jam
that we used to enjoy so much when boy.
The flavor is slightly tart, with just
enough acidity to impart strength Of char
acter that cannot be approached in an or
binary sweet prune.
With this natural advantage in our favor,
and the knowledge that our industry has
grown steadily, with rapid consumption of
all our supply, it must naturally follow
that the Introduction of our fruit is the re-
suit Of the superior quality Of the fruit
itself, and that when it becomes fully
known our product will command a price
commensurate with it's superiority over
other kinds of prunes. Already evidences
of the result to be anticipated from the
wide Introduction of the fruit are coming
in. Letters have been and are being re-
ceived by prominent fruit men of Clarke
county from dealers and consumers in the
large cities Of the country laudatory of the
prune; and many inquiries are received as
to our ability to fully supply the demand
springing up everywhere.
1 wish to emphasize in relation to the
matter of overproduction that we cannot
cJ1ffi m "a NOR
to the prune industry in this state. My ex-
perience is just the opposite; that is, the
chief difficulty hitherto was that the fruit
grower sold his fruit as a. matter of neces-
sity more than a matter of pride, conse-
quently neglecting the manner Of curing
! and packing of these goods as it should
| have been done to obtain the best results.
| By packing correctly the price, or returns
will justify the wisdom of putting out
nothing but the best.
| Among the requisites to successful prune
! raising are, to my mind. three facts, which
are of vital Importance They are, a
proper soil, good location, and intelligent
| cultivation and pruning. AS mentioned in
my opening remarks, Dame Nature has
furnished the first two mentioned as well
{ come gift to the favored sons of Washing
ton, and particularly to the citizens Of
| Clarke county. 1t is unnecessary for me
to dilate on the question of soil and loca-
| ton, except to remark that it is generally
conceded among those competent to judge
| that nowhere on the face of the globe are
| the conditions Of soil and climatic inf1u-
Aences more favorable to the culture of this
| particular variety Of fruit. Having the
| first two important essentials furnished US
| by nature, the third we must supply our
| selves.
Cultivation means work, particularly
! when applied to a prune orchard. You
| Il md
| sist the prune trees as you would any other
| industry that needs the ever watchful care
| to bring out it's better parts, to the end that
! when the time is at hand for the giving
| forth of the fruit you will be rewarded for
| labor expended. If any one has an idea
! that raising prunes is a soft snap. then
| he had better abandon it. The mere fact
| Of clearing off stumps and roots and plant
ing trees, then sitting down to wait five
| years for certain fortune is but air castle
| building, and he who practices it will lind
himself sadly mistaken and disappointed.
Among the more important requisites to
proper cultivation are to be considered the
| preparation Of the ground or field, a care
| full selection of trees, properly planted and
pruned constantly, with careful attention
to soil, stirring it frequently so as to Keep
Ehe trees free from pests
| He who would have large returns from
prune culture without doing all this had
| much better find other employment. Ii
| your trees have developed so that they are
bearing fruit, then comes the serious
| thought of placing this fruit on the mar
| ket so that your labor will be paid it's high
| est worth You must then first consider
| the picking after which time the pfuneS
| must be cured; after curing they must be
graded; after grading they must be prop
! erly packed as the requirement OF the mar
! ket demands. Each, of course, requires its
| own special care and attention.
There are upward of fifty prune dryers
! in operation in Clarke county alone, which
have been erected at cost of $500 apiece,
or a, total outlay of about $4,000 in dry
houses alone. This gives some idea OF the
extent of the fruit operations in this coun-
tv. particularly since with all these dryers
it is necessary to operate them to thelr
fullest capacity in order to take care or
| last years crop.
LET me reiterate that too much care can
not be exercised in curing, grading ana
packing the fruit for the market, because
on fruit sent out rests our reputation as
| successful growers in the future.
| Tn conclusion, need only to add that the
| cult1re of pruneS requires the same pains
taking and practical business methods as
| does any other business in order to receive
successful results The magnitude OF the
business now and the prospect for the fu-
ture Justify the belief and hope that peIore
long the Evergreen state will be supplying
+be neonle of the United States with their
| requirements of prunes, and that part OF
the country, which the famous John =.
| Calhoun said was not worth a unker
dam" will prove that its prune INDUSTRY
! alone As worth all the worry and care tnau
was given to this Northwestern country
! since the time the Hudson Bay Company
long ago planted the first fruit trees Id
CHI