The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-12-30

fornia shippers. Just as tasteful
clothing adds to the appearance of a
man, and proper equine millinery sets
on span of horses, so does the neat
box and the colored paper trimmings
make more salabie the fruit that is
displayed in the market. Another point
OF equal Importance is the careful grad
ing of the fruit as 70 size and color,
since it IS by COMPARISON solely that the
average buyer judges as to whether
fruit is large OF medium. For instance,
a dozen average sized winesap apples,
although as large as that variety
should be, Will when mixed with three
times the number Of large Ben Davis
apples, impart a neasiy appearance
to the whole. Utah growers are learn
ing this fact and there are many or
chardists in this state who can and do
turn out as fancy pack" as any that
comes from California.
Again, the orchards of Utah have in
recent years received considerable at
tention in the matter of disinfectiOn
Until the horticultural law of 1894 was
made it compulsory that every orchard
be sprsy ed for the purpose of extermi-
mating insect pests, the fruit trees of
Utah We're veritable breeding places for
nearly every insect foe to fruit Under
the benign influence of that law and
through the persistent efforts of the
cent of the orchards are now so disin-
fected as to materially check the raw
ages of the insects. In this connection,
too, it may be noted that Utah growers
are patterning after their California
competitors who are wise enough to
perceive that one or two wormy apples
will condemn an entire box and so the
two per cent of imperfect fruit is dis
carded to enhance the chances for the
IS per cent.
More Careful Cultivation.
Another cause for the superiority of
T Utah fruit in 1900 is one which goes
. back Of spraying and grading and even
! farther back than the question of va
/ riety. and that is that Utah farmers
are learning that given plat of
ground cannot be expected to produce a
I crop OF fruit and a crop Of lucern or
/ weeds at the same time. Through the
/ repeated and earnest eXhOrtatiOnS Of
! the members of the board Of horticul-
ture and the various county inspectors,
I as we'll as from other sources, the ma
jOrity of farmers who grow fruit for
market have become convinced that not
only all the native fertility of the soil,
I but also added nutrition is required to
( enable a large fruit tree to mature its
crop. Therefore the lucern and the
/ weeds are being banished and frequent
cultivation is given to the orchard
/ This practice nOr only stops the waste
! OF soil energy that formerly went to the
/ Iucern, but the constant stirring and
/ breaking up of the soil particles rem
! ders a greater per cent of plant food
( therein available. Thus better favored
/ and larger fruit is obtained.
/ The foregoing reasons why Utah fruit
/ in 1900 found favor in the eyes of the
! most critical buyers at home. may also
/ be set down as accounting for the fact
/ that at the state fair held in Salt Lake
! City last October there was a display
/ of every class of deciduOus fruit that
| could not be surpassed. Larger collec-
/ tons of fruit are frequently to be seen
/ at state fairs, but no exposition in
} America ever displayed better speci-
mems of the standard commercial va
rieties, such as Jonathan, VTineSap,