The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-12-13
=
APPLES ON THE BRAIN,
A Crop That is Big Money.Maker. But
"Deaconng' Does Not Pay.
81 l.


Scion Chase in Boston Sunday Herald.
The 2sth annual meeting of the Maine
State Pathological Society at Norway
was successful in every respect The
| exhibition of fruit was the largest and
| of the best quality ever seen in this
State. This years abundant apple crop
of excellent quality, followed by ready
sale after three years of caterpillar war,
has given the apple industry in Maine
| boom. The speakers at the meeting
were enthusiastic, and the apple grow
ers were attentive listeners.
j. II. Roberts said the apple buyers
spread the report that apples were as
| plenty everywhere as inMaine and there
by bought thousands of barrels at Is cts.
AS they began to gather the crop every
| body found they had twice as many
! apples as they expected, and that made
many farmers more eager to sell at Is
cents. Many more would have been
sold if the farmers could have procur-
ed the empty barrels. The price has
gone up, and apples are worth $3.50 and
| rising.
H. W. Collingwood editor of the
Rural Newly orker, was present by in
vitation of President Munson. While
,, he was speaking long train loaded
with apples consigned to Liverpool
passed along over the Grand Trunk
railroad, which seemed to prove his
statement that Maine with the rest of
New England and New York, has the
best fruit market on earth. Ourshome
market is the best in this country. and
the markets of Europe are easy of ac-
| cess. The abundance and fine quality
of the apple crop in this year of drought
only shows the possibility of the Maine
! apple. The farmers of Maine have only
to adapt themselves to new conditions.
have faith in their farms and stay at
home. The wave of emigration that
has swept from New England to thu
West is turning back. The census fig
ures show that the East is growing in
population as fast as the West.
L. A. Gilbert of North Green spoke
on quality as a factor in fruit growing
He said too much inferior fruit is put
on the market. The consumption of
/ fruit increases as the quality increases
~ good barrel OF apples paves the way
for the sale of another. A poor barrel
of apples blocks the way for the sale of
| another. The old farmer who used to
trade and mismatch steers told the
boys to always praise up the poor
steer: the good steer would praise him
self a good barrel of apples needs
no advertising but is good advertise
ment for the next barrel The better
| variety we cultivate, the greater will be
the demand. The home demand is for
fine grained juicy apples. The home
market is more important than the for
eign trade. The apple is in season most
all the year. Some of the early sorts
come off in July, and some of the long
keepers will keep until the middle Of
June. No farmer can afford to sell a
barrel of apples in the home market
that is not satisfactory to the consumer.
If you deacon barrel of apples
that is, fill the ends with good apples
and fill the middle with cider apples
you kill the trade. If we would pack
our apples all alike, as oranges are pack
ed, the demand of the home market
would be doubled
ID. II. Moulton of Pennington, sec
rotary of the society, is an expert and
enthusiastic fruit grower. He said
many small producers were scared by
reports circulated by the apple buying
association and sold thousands of bar
rels at IS cents or 81 a barrel Many
NC1t uIttllt W UCllCFt UlIdl JIG CIOD Was
SO large that the early bird would catch
the worm, and if they did not sell early,
the crop would perish on their hands.
When farmers pack good fruit and
have faith enough in it to put their
names to it, they can afford to take
their chances in the markets through
commission merchants. Many farmers
prefer to sell to the apple buyers, and
the more No. rs he can work into the
No. rs the more money there will be in
his purse. The only question with him
is the number of barrels that count
and not the quality of the fruit. If he
deals through commission house and
doesn't pay some regard to the qualit y
of the fruit, he suffers. Good apples
retail as high in our home markets as
oranges, bananas and lemons. The de
mand for good apple and small fruits in
their season is increasing. Maine farm
| erS don't know what there is for them
in their orchards. In raising fruit we
don't always use the methods that eX-
perience has proved good. When we
cultivate our orchards as we do our corn
fields, better results will follow. We
cannot raise fancy apples on the same
ground with crop of grass. 1t is bet
ter to pillow around the trees than to
| mulch them. Eating apples should be
| put on the market in as attractive form
as lemons, oranges or peaches. The for
| eign market is not yet half developed,
and is in the hands of the middle men.
The apple raiser needs to get nearer to
! the consumer.
All the speakers and all the people
there seemed to have apples on the
brain. The audience was in touch with
the speakers from start to finish.
The following officers were elected
for the coming year: President, z. A.
Gilbert, North Greene; vice presidents,
| B. P. True of Leeds, and 2. A. Arnold
of Arnold; secretary, D. H. Moulton,
Pennington; treasurer, Charles d.
Pope, Manchester
The apple, by cultivation and graft
ing, has developed from the sour crab
to a delicious fruit that is in demand
the world over. Small fruits should be
raised on every Maine farm-enough,
at least for home use-but there is no
other fruit that takes the place of the
apple In old times the science of
grating apple trees was little known.
The orchard was of no commercial
value. The apple has been perfected
by propagating the best natural speci-