The Portland daily press., 1900-12-06
Crop in Maine Vas a Magnificent
One.
Great Demand in West
and South
Where the Yield of Apples
Was Unusually Small.

The ample season 10 at Its height now
and huudrt DIS q bushels OF iosy-oheeked
Baidwtns and other choice brands are
being sent across the ocean with every
ship which leaves this port. The apple
Ia a fruit which Is much In demand
In England and Scotland about Christ
mas time. 1t holds Its own well with
the orange in the popular demand, ana
In fact. seems to be letter appreciated
in merry old England than 1t Is In our
own New England.
This has been great year for the New
England apple grower and right mere
about Portland the farmers with good
orchards have reaped golden harvest,
at least those farmers have who were
not in too great hurry to market their
crop
A PRESS reporter had talk the other
aay wits mar. r. ID. Cummings OF the
him OF Cummings Brothers, commission
merchants, who handle great many
appIes In Portland which are shipped
across the pond.
ut has teen one of the best years for
tina apple grower since 1886. said Mr..
Cummings. 1.-THE crop is not as large
as 1t was In 1885, but the quality is bet
ter ana a better price Is paid for the fruit.
In 1888 the crop was big one, but IN
fortunately, It was just the same ali
over the apple growing region OF the
United States and also in Canada. This
year the crop In the West and South
was failure, although it promised to
be big one at first. But heavy winds
at an inopportune season ruined the
most of the apples and dashed the hopes
of the owners OF orchards to the ground.
"Our crops in Maine and New Hamp-
shire and in some parts of Massachusetts,
were OF a nne quality and the yield was
large. Fully as many New England
apples are going South and West this
year as are going across the ocean. The
80 tes of Maine and New Hampshire have
been overrun with buyers from the South
and Vast, something which has not been
known in many years. Many OF the COM
mission men in Portland have been CIV
ing their attention almost exclusively TO
the shipment of apples to the West and
south, and have not done any foreign
shipping to speak of.
ssWe shall send across the water this
season more than $4,000 barrels OF APP
pies. The most of them go to Liverpool,
which is the great apple market Tor
England, though Glasgow takes about
third as much as does Liverpool. We
don ship much fruit to London. That
seams to be the apple centre for the APP
piss grown In England and London does
not begin to make much OF u demand
for apples until we'll into the winter
when the home supply Is exhausted.
ave havs so far taken out 10000 bar
rails OF apples from Oxford county alone,
tas finest quality OF fruit we nave handled
from IL a Iart of the state In years. We
all take about 60Jo tarrels out Of that
section OF the state reached by the Port
land Il Ogdensourg railroad, and many
from the oa:tsrn Fart OF Maine. We
cont get many apples east Of Dexter, but
this end of the state supplies good
many. The Canadian crop was a large
one, but does not compare in quality
with that grown in Name, New Hamp-
shire ami Massachusetts, this year. Still
demand for Canadian apples Is always
ct, assr in England than IL Is for our
own fruit. Anything grown under the
British flag seems to be more popular
with the British public than the foreign
article. With us the opposite is the rule.
We seem to prefer foreign goods to
those of our own make ami foreign pro-
duotien to those OF our own country. /
den pretend TO re able to tell just why
this should be the case, but 1t is true
nevertheless
1.-The continent of Europe does not
seem TO take many apples. The markets
there seem to prefer some other kind of
fruit, but the British fruit lovers take
an apple in preference to almost any
thing.
1.-THE price Of apples has been steadily
on the insreass sincs September LIST. Then
good apples sold for 20 cents barrel.
The price continued to go up steadily un-
til today apples are being sold by the
farmers at price ranging from 81. 90
TO Sl.75. In England apples bring about
tgelve or fourteen shillings a barrsl.