The record-union., 1896-05-24
SEASONS FRUIT PROSPECTS.
What Prominent Shippers Say Upon the
Subject.
Flrst-Class Fruit, Packed in First-Class
Style, Will Bring Good
Prices.

1ru1t crop throughout the state, anu the
prospective prices which may be ex-
pected to be paid for the same. Ac-
cording to advices received by them,
all fruits except pears will be snort
crop, and cherries have been badly dam
aged by the late rains.
California fruits are late this year,
at least three weeks said j. b. Qulg-
ley of the California Fruit Transporta-
tion Company, "and, as a consequence,
Eastern shipments will be obliged to
compete with Eastern products
Usually our early peach crop Is
thrown on the markets before the Geor-
gia crop has ripened, but this year that
crop will be shipped about the same
time with ours. This will, OF course,
cause active competition, and prices can
not be expected to be as high as when
the Pacific Coast has a monopoly IN
the business. 1t is now estimated that
1000 carloads of Georgia peaches VIII
be thrown on the Eastern markets, ana
cut prices must result.
Beside this, it is estimated that Mis-
scuri will furnish 400 carloads OF
peaches, to say nothing of the New Jer-
sey and Delaware fruit, which will come
on later.
"Advices and personal observation
show me that the pear crop will be a
heavy one in all sections Of the State,
and that shipments of the river artl-
Gle will be made about the 10Th OF
June.
The plum crop is badly injured and
other fruits are more or less damaged,
according to localities. This condition OF
things is probably as much due to the
cold, foggy weather of the past few
weeks as to the late frosts.
1.-The CarolinaS are cutting figure
in the straw berry line, and there have
been shipped from there during the
present season 600 cars, and shipments
continue at the rate of thirty cars daily
Il think it we'll to tell the truth to
California fruit-growers, and let them
understand that owing to the lateness
of the season they have plenty of East
ern competition"
WHAT PORTER BROS. SAY.
"Owing to the heavy storms in April
said A. ]. Hechtman of Porter Brothers
Fruit Company, the season, which
promised to be an early one, is late,
and shipments of early fruit are ex-
tremely light. Without doubt, the rains
and severe frost have interfered mate
rally with the cherry and early april
cot crops in the valley lands; although
in the foothills and higher lands the
early shipping fruit is equal to that of
previous seasons.
While the early shipping fruit shows
q light crop, late apricotS will do fairly
we'll. Peaches will be light crop;
plums a fair one; pears a good crop, es-
pecially Bartletts from the Sacramento
River section.
while much of the fruit now ripen-
ing on the trees does not show the ef-
feet of frosts. still very hot weather or
continued rains will cause a lot of the
fruit to fall, and already in some sec
tions pears are dropping considerably.
The peach crop, which promised in April
to be the largest crop California ever
produced, will not amount to over 90
Ter cent. of a full crop, and undoubtedly
the rain of a day or two ago has badly
injured what cherries were ripe or soft.
The deciduous fruit of the southern
part of the State will be a light crop.
Present indications are that there
viii be a good crop of Eastern fruit, es-
pecfally peaches, although the extreme
hot spell short time back will have
tendency to injure the crops, and the
danger point to Eastern crops will not
be passed until after June 1st-
Notwithstanding indications of
good Eastern crop, the prospects are
Very flattering for good prices on Cali
fornia fruit, if properly picked and
packed, and we believe this is going to
be prosperous season for California
growers.
THE grape crop has been badly in
4 E = +n.a i
can River sections, NaItoma and F'lorin,
1t win not be very heavy.
There has been quite an advance in
the price of raisins of late, owing to
frost damage to the present crop of
Taisin grapes and a threatened hght
pack for the season of 1896.
The dried fruit markets in the East
are extremely dull and prices lower than
they have been during any time Of the
rast season This is a natural conse-
quence. as they have had a month Of
unusually warm weather and people
have stopped eating dried fruit The
stocks of dried fruit in the Eastern
markets however are pretty well used
up. and we look for a better range OF
prices next season than during the sea-
son just passed.
Prices on beans in the East have i'm
proved a little. They are asking ~
cents per bushel for hand-picked Michi-
gan beans, and a large quantity OF Navy
beans are carried in stock in Chicago.
There will probably not be an advance
In the price of beans during the sum
mer months"
MR. FAIRBANKS IDEAS
'I think" said II. A. Fairbanks of the
Producers Fruit Exchange, that there
viii be about the same quantity OF de-
cduous fruit shipped East this year as
there was last, and / expect to see good
prices paid for first-class shipments.
The season is at least three weeks
behind what it would have been had the
fine weather of February continued.
The prices got for shipments depends
upon the quality. My company recently
shipped a car of apricots to Chicago
from Tucson, which brought only 81
cents a crate. while a few crates from
Winters sold readily at 81 %.
The pear crop in the State will be
heavy. while all other fruit will be less
than an average crop. Plums are light
crop all over the State, while the re
cent cold weather has caused curl lear
among peaches, and the crop will not
be as heavy as was promised short
time ago.
In many instances the apricots kept
growing after the late freezes, and many
growers kept hoping against hope that
the crop would mature, but l recently
passed through several orchards where
almost every cot had dropped. When
broken open they presented a spotted,
faulty appearance.