The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-05-18
APPLES HERE
BEST in WORLD
so SAYS Mr.. DAY OF new YORK
Well-knOWn Commission Man Loud
in his Praise of Hood River
Spitzenbergs.

rplthtHutTSs,
'Hood River apples are the finest in
the world, " remarked Horace W. Day,
of Schobel Il Day, New York city, who
was here last Thursday. Mr. Day
was ON his return from trip through
the western states. He has been to
the coast each year for the last ten
years, and in the last four or five
years has made it point to spend a
day at Hood River.
Thursday evening, Ar. Day met
with the directors OF the Apple Grow
ers' union and nuilicl of the mem
bers to discuss the aII le business in
Hood River, aud during a conversa-
tion at the Mount HOOD hotel made
the statement credited to him above.
when you consider that this re-
mark has been uade by man who
has been IN the conn ission business
in New \ lork for 50 years and has
handled nothing hut fancy fruit from
all over the wo,id,n sand +. A. Franz
Of the Hood River Fruit Growers
union, "you can make up your mind
that there is soEc value to this re-
ark.
Mr.. Day devotes most of his time
q travelling over Il country hunting
,r the best fruit there is to be
.yund," " continued Mr.. Franz. "When
ere, he had just come from trip to
California, and was on his way back
Q New York.
There is no place in the world
where they can raise Spit2enbergs and
Newtowns Of the sane high quality
as they can in Hood River valley,
said Mr.. Day. But growers must
bear in mind that he refers only to
our very best, as our small apples and
apples off color are no hetter than
cheap apples from other localities
New York city, he declared, is always
willing to pay high price for strictly
fancy Spitzenbergs, bat they must be
red all around, as he put it, He ex-
pressed himself so often on this point
that it seems he has placed it on my
mind with indellible ink.
Mr.. Day expressed himself as being
very much satisfied with the pack
that the Hood River Apple Growers
union put up last season, and com
/ plimented fthe growers very highly
| for the fine fruit they are able to
raise. They must not be content,
though, said he, to rest on their laur-
ais. They must try to improve each
/ year. In New York when a merchant
buys box Of apples, the first thing
he does is to dig down to the third
| layer, whore he looks for the niger
/ in the fence.
He brought out another point
which the majority of the farmers
| here have not known before, that
box of apples containing 96 to the box
will sell for from 80 to 75c more box
In New York city than one containing
/ 1913, and that there is practically
difference of 25c box between the
different sizes of 96, 112 and 1855,
which is the limit as four tier apple
in that or a European market.
There are some people in Boston,
| Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washing
ton. d. c., who are willing to pay
fancy prices for fancy SpitZenbergs.
They have been supplied heretofore
from New York with our fruit, and
Mr.. Day thinks that 1t is well to let
those people be supplied from there
in order that our people may con.
tnue to receive the high prices for
/ the apples.
"The experience we had In market
Ing some Of our apples in the west
made us think there was such a thing
as raising too large an apple, as it
was hard work to sell three and
three and half tier apples at as good
figure as fOur-tier, but that
does not hold good on the Sipt2en-
bergs. which go to New York, as well
as on Newtowns which go to England,
for the larger the apple the better
the price.
'Ihere is only one other place in
the United States besides Hood River
and Watsonville, where they raise
| Newtowns which are fit for the eX-
port market, that Is the Hudson
River valley In New York state, but
those apples do not compare with
ours In quality, size and flavor. The
trees are 30 and 40 years old, they are
never pruned, never sprayed and the
ground is never cultivated. If God
gives them crop of apples they pick
them, barrel them up and send them
abroad, and then kick because they
/ do not get so much for them as the
Hood River people.
Jacksonville does not raise as fine
a quality as we do, and they think
III, or l2S is large apple. Mr.. Day
has the impression that the sea voyage
improves the quality of our New
towns, when they arrive In England
they are as yellow as gold, and polish
/ like Max.
"Ihe question was put to him If he
thought there would ever be an over
production of Yellow Newtowns in
Hood River valley. He thought the
time would come when we would not
be able to get as good money for
them az we have in the last few years,
but that there would always be a de-
and for fancy fruit at good figure.
The farmers here might better In
the future thin their apples very
thoroughly. BY so doing they will
raise less apples, but of better quality
and size BY so doing they can raise
fruit which other sections can not do
where NeWtOwns are grown, as it
seems impossible for them to raise
large apples. This will give us
cinch on the other fellows for all
time to come.
"In regard to the marketing of the
apples Mr.. Day said that in his opin-
ion the farmers in Hood River would
net more money for their apples by
selling them direct to England, as a
house that comes here and buys ap-
pies for export must figure on large
margin in order to induce him to
handle the business Most any man
is willing to gamble little bit, and
surely the farmers in Hood River can