The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-18
WITH THE FRUIT GROWERS.
PRESIDENTS ANNUAL ADDRESS
DEALS WITH FARMERS NEEDS.
Insect Pests, transportation Compa-
nies and Commission Men Come
I'm for Blame and All Defend
Themselves Except the hugs.


attendance at the fruit growers conven-
tion today, the delegates from Idaho.
Montana and British Columbia, who had
been detained by the floods coming In last
evening or this morning.
President Blalock's annual address dealt
with the questions that he said were OF
most Importance to fruit growers at this
time-the codling moth, methods or mar
keting fruits and transportation. Unless
some means could be found to cut down
the ravages OF the codling moth, apple
raising must become failure, and he was
there to hear what remedies might be
offered or suggested by the scientific men
from the agricultural college. or by any
one who could suggest some means OF es-
Gaping the ravages of the pest.
On the question Of marketing fruit, DR..
Blalock was in favor of selling at home.
(. o. b.. rather than consigning to COM
mission man in some distant city He
said IS cents per box for prunes. cash I. o.
b., was better than the expectation OF get
ting dollar and getting left. Fruit
growers should organize and keep posted
on the prices and markets, also the amount
of fruits in the various markets, and not
flood any particular market and demoral-
ize prices.
On the question Of transportation he be-
lieved the railroads ought to meet the
fruit men half way, which they were not
doing. A few years ago, when this state
had a large crop OF apples and there were
none In the East. the railroads made a
special rate on apples. So they ought to
do now with prunes. The railroad COM
panies were attempting to compel growers
to dry their prunes by making the freight
rates on green fruit prohibitive. There
was something wrong somewhere. or fruit
men would not be growing fruit at loss,
and unless conditions could be changed
~ 4 H. LII
orchards and grow alfalfa In place of fruit.
Fruit was something that everybody want
ed. that everybody used. and the fruit
grower ought to realize fair price for
1t, which he would have II the railroads
gave him a fair rate and the commission
man was reasonably honest. But unless
something was done soon thousands of
acres of orchards would go to the brush
pile.
In evaporation and canneries, perhaps.
lay the remedy whereby the surplus stock
would be saved. and thus make fruit
growing profitable, only shipping green
fruit when the market was satisfactory.
Perhaps the next most interesting paper
of the day was T.. l. Smith, of Hood
River, who was introduced by DIR. Bla-
lock as the father of the association.
More Education Needed.
1.-THE Transition of Agriculture and the
Smiths subject, which he handled in a
most interesting way. He prefaced his re-
marks with a short review of the great
changes that had taken place in all BRAN
ches of industry. from the sickle to the
modern harvester, from the OK cart to the
railroad car. With all this Improvement,
what was being done to improve the man
in partnership with the soil? Here he
took up the various agricultural schools,
from the first two established at Cleve-
land and at Lansing, to the present large
endowments in all tho states, and called
attention to the somewhat startling fact
that all these schools were turning out
lawyers, doctors. preachers. engineers and
other professional men, while the number
of farmers was ridiculously small.
Why was this? Was 1t because the par
ents wanted lawyers in the family, in
stead of farmers? What was the remedy?
He suggested that parents must be arous-
ed to the Importance of higher education
and a higher social life for farmers, and a
course in elementary agriculture be adopt
ed in the country schools. Something
should be done, but he did not know what,
and he wanted to call on Mr.. Miller, ex-
president of the Corvallis agricultural COL
lege for his views.
Mr.. Miller said the trouble was that such
schools were run by lawyers and polit-
clans, instead of farmers, and that the
lawyers in other interests than agriculture.
This condition would exist until the farm
ers woke up to the situation and had some
care for their own interests. A people or
class of people could not be raised up
in the social scale by outside forces. The
inspiration must come from within them
selves, and until farmers had some desire
to better their social condition, it would
not be bettered.
Railroad Side of 1t.
s. L. Moore, of the Northern Pacific,
talked on the transportation problem,
maintaining that the whole trouble was not
with the railroads. California fruit men
paid a trife higher freight rate than
Northwest fruit growers, and made money.
They were organized and handled their
business in more business-like way.
Their surplus fruit they dried and canned.
What this country needed was canneries
and evaporators. Thousands of dollars of
canned fruits and vegetables were ship
ped into Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Mon
tana and British Columbia. while our own
fruit was allowed to go to waste. Fruit
canneries were the things that would solve
the problem; not cheap freight rates.
Mr.. Moore called attention to the fact
that while the Northwest fruit growers
were here in convention, the snow was
UP to a mans neck in his native state
Pennsylvania. In all the Eastern states
they were cutting ice, and ST. Paul was
advertising her frosty ice palace. while
here the grass was green, the flowers in
bloom and the air soft and balmy.
w. S. Offner, of Walla Walla, gave an
interesting paper on commercial orchards,
advocating the planting of the best va
rieties of fruit for shipment
J.. w. Goodwin, the Seattle commission
man. spoke on marketing fruit, taking the
position that +. o. b. shipments were not
as safe or profitable as dealing with re-
liable and capable commission man. Fruit
growers should find out which commission
men were reliable, and deal with them.
Montana's Fruit Law.
S. NJ. Emery, president of the state board
of horticulture of Idaho, gave the most
interesting talk of the day on the Mon
tana fruit law, which he said originated
from a box of most beautiful Belleflower
apples from an Oregon grower, that was
fine on top but in the box the most
measely, scabby. wormy, rotten, gnarled
and worthless lot OF hog feed ever put in
a box.
Al. rox, l.