Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-06
FRUIT GROWERS
IN CONVENTION
STATE SESSION Is OPENED
AT SANTA ROSA
EllWood Cooper, Horticultural Com.
missioner, and Governor Pardee
Deliver Interesting Addresses.
Attendance Is Large
BY Associated Press.


SANTA ROSA, Dec 5.-The Califor-
mia state fruit growers convention
convened this morning in Ridgeway
hall. There was a large attendance.
After an invocation by Rev. William
Martin, pastor of the First Presbyte-
rian church, Mayor John p. Overton de-
livered an address of welcome and
Ellwood Cooper, state horticultural
commissioner, was then introduced and
delivered the opening address.
Mr.. Cooper, after referring to the
favorable conditions of the fruit in
dustry at present said, in part:
Walnut blight was not nearly so
bad as it was the last two years. Pear
blight, except in the Vaca valley, also
much less. The suppositiOn is that the
climatic conditions were less favor
able for the spread of the disease, the
season being cold, without hot winds.
The crops of these fruits were unusu-
ally small.
THE prune crop was almost fail
ure. L have heard estimates as low as
one-twentieth of what it should have
been.
I'VE were most fortunate in getting
an appropriation to enable us to carry
out the work of parasitic investiga-
ton. George Compere has been kept
searching in various parts of the world.
gathering information and parasitic in
sects. The two principal ones are an
internal parasite for the red scale and
an internal parasite for the purple
scale. These we are now breeding in
the insectary in the Ferry building at
San Francisco.
Subject of Pure Food
"I have discussed the subject of pure
food for many years from the reports
of the board of health OF San Francisco
in it's investigation of the jams and
jellieS in the market. Many of these
were largely adulterated and quite a
tanning any of the fruit which they
purported to be. These spurious arti-
ces are put on the market at prices far
below what the real fruit could be of
fered. Hundreds of tons of oranges
go to waste every year, also lemons
and the berry industry is often depres-
sed for want of mrket. A by-pro-
duct, by reason of a fraudulent COM
petition, is debarred, the growers al
lowing their surplus to go to waste
rather than give their time and labor
without profit The question of a pure
label law has been before the legisla.
ture many times. Many people have
their attention diverted from the rea
purpose of such legislation and are
made to believe that 1t is an attempt
to control what they shall eat and
drink, while no such intention was ever
inaugurated in any bill proposed. 1t is
simply a claim that every article in.
| tended for human consumption should
be truthfully represented on the label.
At the conclusion OF Mr.. Cooper's
remarks, Governor Pardee addressed
the convention. His remarks We're I'm.
| teresting and appropriate and Were
heard with close attention
Governor Pardee's Address
Gov. Pardee said in part:
II realize that this a gathering O.
men who are, in one way or another
specialists, and | shall not undertak,
! to instruct any one of my hearers II
his speciality, whether it be orchard
or vineyard, wine or raisin making, tn
marketing of fruit products on tn
study of plant and tree diseases. All
shall attempt to do is to talk to yol
about the general economic aspects O
/ our great fruit industry, and then ad,
something in regard to the effort
| which the state and federal govern
ments are making to promote 1t.
mo one knows just what the value
to California of this great industry, be
cause there are no complete statistics
although It Is by common conser
agreed that II constitutes our largei
single interest. In the census of 19C
the value of the fruit products Of III
I United States was given as $1S1, 900, ,00
of which California claimed S28. 600 90