The record-union., 1897-11-17


as has been recently"
From the above reports. it can be seen
that California fruit has much 10 colllene
with in the Eastern markets, yet despite
this fact and despite the furtner lacl tldt
the Northwestern States and TerTltorles
Including Oregon and Washington, Snipped
zoo carloads of fruit to Eastern markets. as
against, / am told, less than loo cdrIoans
last year, and despite the stllI 1urtner
Tact, that California shipped l,z4l cafioSoh,
or SO per cent more than last year. II -
gratifying to know that the net returns
realized by the California growers nave
been from 10 to 70 per cent greater thaI
last year. There are individual cases, OF
course. where the results were poorer tnan
last year. There are other lndlViuud
prices, notably on pears, and Tor several
weeks OH peaches, were all the way from
30 TO 100 per cent. higher, but from all tnat
! can learn a gain of from 10 to 70 per cent
is a fair average increase in prices Iof
the years shipments as whole: rms
speaks most favorably for our methods OF
marketing and indicates that we nave
made important strides in that direction
There seems to be a marked diversity OF
opinion concerning the best way TO reach
the smaller Eastern markets. Experience
has shown that the plan of selling by auc-
sion should be confined to the large cities
where there are better bidders. EXperl-
ence has shown that 1t does not pay to
consign fruit to small markets to be sold
at private sale. One shipper made the fol-
lowing statement to me yesterday: L
have just received returns for two car
loads of fruit conSig gned to one OF the small
Eastern markets on September l5th, Just
two months ago. In this particular case
the returns We're fair, but for two months
The growers and have been kept utterly
tn the dark as to the prices realized. 1t is
an extremely unsatisfactory way 10 DO
business"
1t would therefore seem that there are
but two plans left on which TO deal with
Hhe small markets.
l. To permit the dealers In small mar
1Iets to get their supplies from auction CEN
tiers through the employment, on their
part, of auction brokers.
2: For California shippers and growers to
refuse to consign to any non-auction
points and to compel such trade to buy it's
fruit F. o. B. California
The latter plan is, of course, the more
growers and shippers to unite upon such
= proposition with the view of regulating
u. o. B. prices, it would be conducive to
extremely difieult If not impossible, thing,
however, in California and elsewhere to
get the growers, the shippers, or both, to
successfully carry out such an idea. If
some such plan can be presented which
will seem feasible, / for one, small be very
support. In saying this believe echo the
sentiment of every grower, who has the
welfare of the industry and the State at
heart. H. WEINSTOCK,
President Cal. T. G. & S. A.
MR.. FILCHER'S ESSAY.
J. A. Filcher read an essay on Cali
iornfa Fruits in Foreign Markets" He
spoke of the excellent manner in which
the exhibit of the State at the Ham
burg Exposition had been prepared and
placed in the building, and the great
Interest it excited in the people, who
had never seen California fruit, and the
much greater interest it excited in the
dobbers and handlers of such products.
He had since his return had letters
from a number of large Hamburg
houses, who wished to get into the Calf
fornia trade, and only yesterday rep
resentative of a large Hamburg firm
had called on him for that purpose.
He set up small stoves and cooked the
dried fruits for free distribution, and
a tasting of it was almost always fol-
lowed by an order. The dealers were
walked up, and began to buy and sup
ply their customers, and before the
close of the exposition there was no
fruit left on sale in the markets.
But still much remains to be done
The California producer must be honest
with the European consumer. He must
give full measure, an honest pack and
purity Of quality in the product offered
The growers also must band together.
Herepeated that they must band togeth-
er and demand such prices as will prove
remunerative, for there is no use Of
doing business in which there is no
profit. Our prunes are we'll liked, but
have to come into contact with pruneS
from a large number of countries.
When he came away there We're bad re-
ports from European prune districts.
The worlds crop Of prunes is now es-
timated to be some millions of pounds
short, and as the California crop is in
excess of that of past years there IS
"a chance to open up a good market for
them. The Germans like our raisins.
too but want them packed loose, and
will not pay more for clusters or fancy
packing. He cooked dried pears and
plums together, and tickled the German
palates with them, the acid Of the
plums blending with the sweet pears,
and a market for those fruits will be
found in the future. Canned fruit is
well liked, but is expensive, on account
of the high tariff, and only the rich can
use it. 1t needs only proper effort to
open up a market that in those dense
centers of population will soon exceed
the supply. If the money were obtain
able now an exhibit could for $4,000
be maintained for a month or two in
each of six large commercial centers
OF Europe.
Most of the facts presented by Mr.
Filcher have already been published
in the Record d-Union.''
NEARBY MARKETS.
Thomas V. O'Brien next read an es-
say on Nearby Markets" He re-
hated his experience, and how he found
that fruit was food, being stranded in
p country where he was unable to get
his regular meals, and found there was
q wide difference between apples and
other fruits, ready cooked by nature
and potatoes. carrots, ETC., in their un
cooked state. He spoke of the great
waste Of good fruit in this State. while
other foods that we do not need in this
climate are freely used. We are vast
ing, he said, much valuable food that
we cannot dispose of and using other
food that We could dispose of to others
Mr.. Filcher had spoken OF teaching the
Germans how to cook dried fruit. Would
it not be well to give some instruction
here at home as to proper methods Of
cooking it, and thus in measure es-
cape the evils of eating the ill-cooked
greasy food many of us consume?
W. H Mills, in a letter to a Farmers
Club, had estimated that 1900 people
I'm San Francisco 1--we in hotels and
boarding houses. being catered to by
about 1900 persons who buy fruit IN
original packages. These nibble a little
food, as supplied to them by their
caterers, but how about the other 300,-