Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-11-10
JOSEPHINE COUNTY
NEEDS A UNION
Union Secures Banner Price for
Hood River Apples-Jack
son County Second.

A. d. Helms will finish packing his
apple crop this week and will have
about 1000 boxes or seven carloads.
These are picked off Of six acres OF
ground and are all Newtowns Pippins
which will ultimately find their way
mostly to the London market for the
Englishman' tablt where this apple
is esteemed above all others. The
Helms orchard is one of the few in
the valley which yields an average
crop of apples this year. 1t is situat.
ed in the upper valley. ey.-Ashland
Tidings.
This crop at 81 box, the price that
j. W. Merritt of Genital Point, re-
ceived last week for 1000 boxes Of
Newtowns, would bring Mr.. Helms
$4,000 or at sl.75 per box, the price
that George Stevens and Lee Brad
shaw of Brownsboro received for 3030
boxes of apples, Mr.. Helms will
realize s8, 900 for his crop at the former
price ard the latter price $1,000.
Either amount as the gross return
from six acres of hill land will yield
larger profit than any six acres of
the richest Rogue river bottom land
to hops or hay at the average price
that is had foI these products.
The Hood River growers are also
making big money on their apples
this year. The Hood River Fruit
Growers Union, which handles the
fruit crop of that Valley sold the
entire crop this fall by bids. In an
swer to their advertisement there were
four foreign bidders in the field, in ad-
dition to the Eastern biddersfor the en-
tire apple crop. The prices realized on
Newtons run from 50 to 81. 80 box,
while the SpitzenberRs brought from
80. 25 to $3.0 box, and most of both
varieties brought the top prices.
1t is conceded by experts that Hood
river soil and climate will produce no
better apple, either in flavor, color or
shipping quality than Rogue River
Valley All that enables the Hood
River growers to get better prices,
than those of Rogue River is that
Hood River has been better advertised
in the wo' Ids markets than those of
this Valley and also that the entire
crop is sold in one lot, which makes
the sale large enough to attract bid
ders from New York, Boston and
other Eastern markets and from
European countries. Rogue. River
Valley has only had limited adver-
tising in the East and in Europe and
the method of selling here precludes
the securing Of top prices for no bid
can be had on the entire crop of the
Valley or on that of any one section.
Here in Josephine county where ap-
pie raising is as yet carried ON in an
Indifferent way and with no union to
handle the or7p, each grower sells the
best he can, with prices ranging from
80 cents to Sl20 box. In Jackson
county, whre fruit raising is carried
on more extensive scale and more
attentivion is given to cultivation,
pruning, spraying, picking, packing
and labelling the boxes, and where the
crops are sold by the large growers in
lots of 1000 to 5000 boxes and even in
larger lots by the two fruit growers !
unions that organized in that country,
the prices range from 81 so to 50. % !
per box. We're there a strong union
in Josephine county and the unions
in jackson county able to control the |
entire crop of that county, as does the
Hood River union the crop of that
valley it would be possible for Rogue
River growers to secure as coed
prices for their apples as do the
Hood River growers get for their ap-
pies. If the entire apple crop of
Rogue River Valley could be pooled
md bids invited from the big dealers
If the Eastern cities and Of Europe
here is no doubt but that prices as
ligh as the best secured by the Hood
River growers could be had for all
he Standard apples of this Valley.
The difference in price now had and
hat whcih could be had by thorough
dvertising and big selling in big lots
would mako an added profit that
would make fruit raising by far the
most profitable industry that could be
arTled on in Rogue RiverV alley.