Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-06-04
GREAT YEAR
FOR FRUIT.

Michigan will produce crops this year
that will surpass the most abundant
Year OF its fruit producing record. The
season has just opened. In the past
there has always been some variety
lacking The more tender kind had
this year there promises to be an
patch and orchard.
1T was thought for a while that the
cold weather might bring frost such
as has so often appeared between the
18th and gath of May, but this season
is passed without such chilly. vista
l.tion.
or some fruits there is an increased
acreage. The wet weather of last year.
| however, is said to have interfered
With the planting of Strawberries and
]araspberries. What is lacking in the
| way of acreage will be made UP in
| quality.
or peaches there will be two bushels.
istosone of any late Year. In some local
tiles the trees must be thinned as per
cent. Every variety is unusually full.
| There will also be a big crop of apples
| pears and cherries.
Benton Harbor serves as an index as
| to the fruit production of not only
| Michigan, but of all the central states,
| because a large per cent of the ship
/ ping cases of that section is made
/ here.
| A member of the Colby-Hncltley
company, which has factories at De-
catur, Ala, and l'e,oskey, Mich. as
1 well as at Benton Harbar furnishes
| some figures as to what will be needed
| to ship the fruit crop now growing in.
4 the United States
| The orders aggregate 100000 sixteen.
quart crates $4,000 twenty-four-quart
4 crates, 100000 grape baskets. 1000, 900
| fifth- bushel peach baskets, 5000 dozen
/ bushel peach basketssand more if they
\ can be made 100000 siX-basket peach,
crates, 100000 half-bushel melon bas-
4 kets.
Train loads OF basket and crate ma
| terial is being packed in the knock
down by huge hydraulic press and
sent all over the country. The baskets
| and boxes are put together III the
| patches and orchards of twenty states.
| The box making season has just COM
meneed here, where one factory en-
| ploys 80 hands. who sew the boxes
| with wire by special machinery and
tack them together With wonderful.
| speed. This firm uses up a carload of
| nails not much larger than a pin.
Such has been the demand for boxes
and box material by the fruit growing
states that box lumber has rapidly d.
nin!shcd and increased in price 25 per
Iscent The manufacturers We're forced.
to seek other bases OF supply. This Is
| found in the thick lumber lands of
southern Missouri. There he timber
| is sawed into fourfoot lengths loaded
| in box cars and brought UP from the
Mississippi river in trains of twenty
l3five cars. There is now In one yard
| here 500, 900 feet of white wood brought
| from Missouri In four Weeks me
| freight of this stuff amounts to $4,000.
Another indication of heavy fruit.
business out OF Michiganis the greatly
/ Increased transportation faculties
4 Within n week the Graham s. Morton
Transportation Company will be max
/ ing five trips each way q day between
jsGhicago and Benton Harbor This will
/ be done by putting four boats into the
/ trade Two of these boats will make
\ a trip and a half y day. The City Of
/ Chicago, the big carrier of the fleet.
( has been removed and a new steamer.
1.-the Mary. Will be put on as a special.
/ fast carrier.
1 Besides these shipping facilities there
are two railroads which run their rails
right thru the orchards and vineyards.
4 In some Instances these lines have
i sidetracks running TO packing houses.
+ These roads are the South Haven IL
Eastern and tile Milwaukee,, Benton
4 lIarbor & Columbus
These roads ramify a great fruit belt
/ bring in the fruit on solid trains and
5Eunluad ii on the decks Of the steamer
shcompanN. whence 1t is run across the
1 cool water AL night and re-shipped at
4 Chicago and Milwaukee to go towns in
Ithe west and northwest. Some of it is
sent to Kansas City Omaha and 81.
4 Paul for redistribution. Then the
isGranu Trunk gathers up car loads of
/ fruit and hauls it to Detroit, where 1t
lis re- Shipped far and near.
i Michigan people are going ahead
4 planting fruit trees. 1t is claimed that
4 lin Berrien county alone 100000 peach
i trees are annually set out One feature
4 Of fruit producing seems to have come
e to stay. That is the red tarlatan. which
1 is made to give a deceptive hue TO fruit
\ in the basket The manufacturers of
4 leases say that they will use as much
D as ever. II costs from 30 to % cents a
4 bolt. sixteen yards in a bolt. The fac
4 tory people say they invest $1,000 in
tariatan a year
FRUIT IN GREAT BRITAIN.
III. BoWick, London Eng, in Country
Gcntleman]
Sosmany OF your friends are interested
in the fruitsrowing industry that
a think you viii afford space for one OF
two remarks
Il The Valencia orange. which is export
ed to England IN enormous quantities. is
Very popular with the grocer and fruit
& erer too. They are packed in long cases
holding usually 400 to ia each. i is
/ nothing ont of the way for one firm OF
fruit brokers' 10 sell 10000 Of such cases
in a single day. During the past winter
these oranges have been sold from 50 to
$3.50 a case, Wholesale; 30 ii will BE- seen
q that they can be retailed to the public
as low as three@a penny and yet leave a
( flair margin Of profit, and Of course the
. finest fruits sold AT a penny each would
at the prices quoted give n profit of s.
i, a caas to the fruiterer. Few countries