Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1900-02-02
PLENTY OF APPLES.
This Years Crop Nearly Twice as
Large as That of 1903.
distribution of the Crop Between
the short states-HOw the
Fruit Is Handled In
Chicago.

The apple crop this year is twice as
large as that of 1898, according to South
Water street apple kings. Even then
it is but 60 per cent. of full crop and
is not to be compared with the immense
crop of 1896, when apples sold as low as
IS cents n barrel and were so cheap that
no money could be made on them by
either grower or handler. The quality
this year is also superior to that of 1895,
with prices in general lower. New York
apples are higher than year ago, but
that is due to the exceptionally fine
quality of this seasons New York fruit.
The distribution of the crop varies, as
it does every year. New York has about
40 per cent. Of crop, Michigan so per
cent. of crop, mostly of No. apples.
TheNew England crop is light Last
year the west had none. This season
Indiana has larger yield than for ten
years past and the piles of apples on the
cekar floor are bigger than for n long
time. Ohio and Iowa did fairly well.
Illinois has fair crop of mediums. Mis-
souri's yield is small and of poor quail
ity. Wisconsin and Minnesota are buy
ers. California did well, as did Canada.
which has about GO per cent. of a crop.
The Pacific coast is coming up in APP
pie production. 1t is not much of fac
tor this year, however, on account of
the quantity of fruit raised in the mid
die west and east. In few years it will
be OF greater Importance, although even
now it is of Importance in case Of a
shortage over the rest of the country.
This year the middle, west and east
are exchanging fruit in kind of apple
reciprocity. New York is swapping her
famous greetings, Baldwins, russets
Grimes golden and spys for western
Jonathans, wine saps and Ben Davis
especially the latter.
The apple picking season is now over
and car loads of apples are coming into
Chicago for cold storage. Only the best
hand-picked apples will stand cold stor-
age for any length of time. Chicago
handles about 80 per cent. of the eggs
in the country, and at least 20 per cent
OF its apples. 1t would handle larger
percentage of the latter were it not for
the number of cold storage plants con-
structed throughout the fruit districts
in New York state.
Inc common practice of large South
water street apple men buying apples
varies in different sections. In New
York most of the apples purchased by
them are bought by the barrel, being
picked by the grower but packed in the
orchard by the commission firms own
packers. few firms have as many as
500 men in their employ during the
four to six weeks packing season. But
New York fruit farmers are old hands
at the business, and many of them pacl,
their own fruit, either selling it to an.
pie firms representatives or consigninc
It themselves to commission-h houses. In
Illinois more apples are bought on the
trees. Occasionally speculative in
vestors buy the prospective crops OF
orchards in bloom.
In Chicago three or four South Water
street houses handle the fruit in car
lots, as well as in lesser quantity, and to
them the minor commission men go fol-
part OF their stock. Firms sandwiched
between these two extremes in the vol.
ume of their business buy outright over
the country and receive commission on
lesser scale than the Chicago
Times-Herald.