The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1900-09-21

AhC AAtttANah hpHAC NAVVs
"Taken as whole, the apple crop Of
the United States and Canada promises
better this year than for any recent year"
said George G. Richardson Of Leayen-.
worth, Kan, one Of the largest apple
growers and shippers in the world, TO a
st. Louis GlObe-Democrat reporter.
"The outlook in the apple-raising por-
tions Of Illinois, Missouri and Kansas is
for good half crop, continued Mr. Rich
ardson. sin Arkansas, Nebraska and
Iowa the prospects are for 40 per cent Of
full crop; in the Pacific coast states,
Oregon, Washington and California, a
full crop; Michigan, full crop, drop
ping badly; Western New York and
New England, average crop; Central
New York, damage Of a local nature
from canker worms"
Mr. Richardson believes the apple
business is yet in its infancy, and that
there is no danger of over-production, as
the increasing population and growing
foreign demand will more than keep
pace with the supply. 4 man in the
apple business must use the same care
and industry and apply the same meth
eds that he would in successfully raising
a crop OF corn. II he lets his orchard
grow up in weeds and the ground become
hard and baked, so the underground will
consume the moisture which the tree
should have, he will be disappointed in
his crop. II he neglects the cardinal
principles Of scientific spraying, SO as to
relieve the tree Of insect pests and fun
gus growths, and fails 10 cultivate the
ground properly, be will get culls instead
OF apples. The commercial orchards, of
which there are many in this section,
have proved that both the quantity and
quality of the apple crop can be i'm
proved by attention to these details.
Many orchards are being planted in
the West, but comparatively few in the
East. This is regarded by those who
claim that the permanent fruit belt of
the country is in the West as a signifi-
cant fact. 1t shows that the orchardists
OF the West are making money, at any
rate. / clain~that the farmer can raise
bushel Of apples cheaper than bushel
OF corn, and get more bushels from the
acre. At present prices he can also get
more for the bushel OF apples than for
the bushel OF corn. This suggests the
question Of price and its influence upon
consumption. believe that were ap-
Piles sold at price that would permit
the wage-earners to purchase them as a
regular article of food, there could not
be enough grown to supply the demand.
Let the apple cease to be classed as a
luxury, as it is, even in the apple belt
and it becomes question, not OF mar
ket for the apples, but of apples to sup
ply the market.
"Cold storage as an adjunct to the ap-
pie business is no longer an experiment.
When properly packed and prepared,
the fruit can be kept nine months in
this manner and reach the market in
perfect shape. The trouble with many
people who try to keep apples in cold
storage is that they do not properly pack
the fruit beforehand, using only the
sound apples. Good fruit, properly
packed, should keep from October until
the following July, with very little
shrinkage except that which naturally
results from change of temperature OF
rs or so deg. to SO, which the concensus
OF opinion regards as the best for cold
storage purposes. Our experience has
been that cold storage prolongs the life
and keeping qualities of an apple, and
that when the proper conditions are OBJ !
served it is an unqualified success.
ITO the exporter especially it is an in |
estimable boon. We ship about 3,000,- |
600 barrels OF apples from this country
to Europe every year Most of these go
to England, although Germany is buy
ing American apples in greater quantity |
each year. The shipping season lasts
from the beginning Of the movement of |
winter apples in the fall until the follow |
ing May. The late spring shipments are |
always made on board steamers which |
have refrigerator plants, ON which they
are loaded from refrigerator cars. There
is not much prejudice against American |
apples abroad, although Hamburg did |
shut out our fruit few years ago be-
cause of the San Jose scale, The scare
over this resulted principally from the |
box apples shipped from California. In
England apples are catalogued as
tights, etc, according TO the condition
of the barrels on arrival, and it is nee
essary before shipping to have the bar
rels made perfectly secure else the con-
tents will be graded lower
"The most popular varieties of apples
are still the Ben Davis, Jonathan and
Missouri Pippin. These are all showy
winter apples and find ready market
abroad. The Ben Davis is planted more
extensively by commercial orchardists
than any other, for the reason that it
will stand more abuse and i'll treatment
a nd non1a ouf haitian than avx, OfHor ,va,.