The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-01-10

England and France.
Here was a matter for inquiry, and the
Oregonians lost no time in seeking the
facts of this curious traffic in Oregon ap-
pies. And it was a story to please an
Oregonian nightly. "We get, said the
dealer, "our best apples from Oregon,
and the one fault we have to find is that
there are not enough Of them to meet
the demand. Here in New York there
is very large buying public far more
concerned aboutquality than aboutprice.
What we call our best trade really cares
nothing at all about what fine food
product costs, provided it is the very
best OF its kind. Take these rich people
who live up the avenue, for example.
Why, through their buffers and house
keepers they are always on the lookout
for the rarest and the best, and they will
pay any price required to get what they
want. 1t is TO this special trade that
the very best Of the Oregon apples go,
and never at any time do we have
enough gilt-edge stock to fill our orders.
Why those apples on show are sold, and
we are delaying the delivery simply be-
cause we want the goods to top off our
window display. We can't keep such
stuff in the house two hours, and we
could have sold those goods over half a
dozen times.
Asked about the boxed fruit on the
sidewalk, the dealer said "Thats a
very interesting part OF the business. 1t
is a growing fashion, especially in the
winter season, to make gifts of fruit,
and probably 20 per cent of what goes
out from this store carries with it card
conveying the buyers compliments.
For this purpose the Oregon apple is a
hot favorite, due as much to its fine APP
pearance as to its good quality" AT
this point he consulted his order book,
and continuing, said: "Today we have
orders for q gift boxes Of the best APP
pies we can dig up-and that always
means Oregon apples. Yesterday we
had II, and the day before that 81. The
day before sailing OF the fast ocean liners
is always a good day for the fancy fruit
business, because there are always many
orders for goods to be sent to friends or
relatives on the other side. Those goods
you see on the sidewalk are mostly for
Chrlstman presents, and if you will eX-
anime the addresses on the boxes you
will see that they 60 everywhere. OF
course, only the best stuff goes in this
way, and nobody cares what the cost is.
We prefer always to fill foreign orders
with Oregon apples, for they are usually
handsomer, and always crisper, and bet
ter in flavor than any other apple which
comes to this market. "
Inquiry as to the volume of European
trade in apples brought out still more in
teresting and important facts. THERE'S,
the dealer declared, practically no limit
to the business that might be done with
the three countries of England, France
and Germany, ifthe right sort of goods
were available in sufficient quantities
Many hundreds OF tons of American APP
pies 90 to these countries; but there are
what the trade calls "barrel goods -
that is, Eastern apples packed in barrels,
and for the most part stuff of inferior
quality. They make no appeal to the
better sort of trade in fact they make
the basis of good deal of joking on the
other side, just as the dried prune does
with u.s. "Until very recently" con-
tinued the obliging dealer, the European
public has not Disseminated between
grades or the brands of American goods ;
but the Oregon apple is coming more
and more into notice, and it is now
particularly named in many OF our for
eign orders. OF course no better means
of advertising fruit product could be
devised than the practice of gift-making,
which have just described. Whoever
gets box of these fine goods is not like
ly to forget the Oregon apple, and he is
almost certain to inquire for it when
he comes to purchase fruit.
Interested greatly in what they had
learned about the Oregon apple trade in
New York, from the retailers point of
view, the Oregonians on the following day
sought the district on the west side OF
Manhattan Island where the wholesalers
and brokers in fruit products are to be
found, From the visitors standpoint 1t
is very far from being a pleasant part of
town. The streets are narrow and dirty,
crowded with prodigious traffic, while
the sidewalks are so Cluttered up with
boxes and crates that one picks his way
along with difficulty The first vstwas
to Mr.. IL. G. Nogel, OF Nogel q Co. gen
eral commission merchants and whole
sale dealers in foreign and domestic
fruits, $40 Washington street Mr. No-
gel was found to be a very courteous
and intelligent man. "Yes," he said,
in response to inqyiry, "the Oregon APP
Pile is the best apple in the Eastern mar
ket, and, for that matter, the best in
the whole world. 1t looks better, tastes
better, stands transportation and stor-
age better than any of its rivals, and so
easily takes the market in any and all
competitions Weget apples from var
ious parts of Oregon, and notably from
Hood River, and from Mediord. All the
established brands--indeed, all that
know anything about, come from one or
the other of these sources. don't know
that the Hood River product is intrinsic
ally better than that Of the Medford dis
trict-in truth, | very much doubt it
but it has the name among retailers and,
other things being equal, sells little
more readily. though there is never
much difficulty in selling any brand OF
the Oregon apples in this market In
general, Oregon apples range in price,
as We wholesalers sell them to the trade,
from 81 to s. per box, though the last
named figure should be called exception
al. The average quotation is S4,25 to 10 /
with the bulk Of the best shipments 20
ing at the lower figure. The best apples |
from Oregon come in what we call four /
layer goods, that is, the fruit is tee size
to make four layers in standard apple |
boX,averaging96 apples to the box. Five /
layer stuff, OF course, goes at n lower Z
price, though the demand is rs brisk for [
this class Of goods as for the better sort. - ]
Proceeding TO further discussion Of the /
apple question, MIR. Nogel declared that T.
the only serious competitor with the
Oregon is the California apple from the /
vast orchards near Watsonville and Lom. /
poe. "Here," he said, "is a curious I
fact. California fruits in general, while ]
not notable for flavor, are fine inappear- /
ance, and, owing to toughness OF skin /
and the firm, ibrous quality Of their pulp, /
are exceptionally good carriers and 4
keepers. This Is true Of the California .
peach, and Of pretty much all fruits ex-
cept the apple. California sends us l.