The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-11-08
APPLE MARKET Cos.
SIP FROM Big Cities

The New York market has been dull
and easy this week for medium and
poor grade apples, land the receipts
have been very heavy; but the de-
mand for the best quality continues
good, and prices are steady. As not
ed elsewhere, the tracks Of the New
YORK Central are full of apples, and
the weather has been warm and un-
favorable to the trade. Considering
the heavy receipts, the market has
been maintained better than many
members of the trade anticipated.
About Go per cent of the receipts
this week have been from the middle
west, hut shipments have also been
liberal from westren New York. Con-
fiicting reports are current In the
trade, regarding the attitude of the
apple growers in western New York,
some asserting that the growers are
justly weaker under the heavy re-
ceipts at consuming centers, and 9th
ers claiming that the growers are
still holding out firmly. One buyer
showed the Jorunal representative a
letter, showing that he had purchased
10000 barrels of Greetings and like
varieties for sl.70 per barrel. Appar-
emily the growers are finding that
there is an oversupply of medium
grade fruit, and are disposed to
yield on this class, but the best quail
tity Of apples has rot shown any per-
ceptible weakness.
Several cars of mort thwestern apples
arrived this week. o. p. Davis a.
Brothers have received four cars from
the Rogue River valley, the quality
of which was superior and which we're
taken by the trade as fast as offered,
orders being placed in advance for
cars yet to arrive. Il. p. Loomis d
Co. also received their first car from
the Hood River Apple Growers union,
the quality of which was also all that
could be desired. The Oregon apples
consisted of Newtowns, Sritzenbergs,
Kings and Oregon Beauties and pric-
es ranged from 81. so to "a.
The reports last week, as shown In
detail elsewhere in the Journal, we're
10000 barrels against l04,OO the
same week last year. The estimated
exports this week are'giyen as follows: !:
New York to Liverpool, 1900 bal
rels; to London, 1900; to Glasgow,
1000 barrels; to Hamburg, 10, 600 bar
rels, and to various ports, 5000 bar
rels. Boston to Liverpool, 25,500
barrels; to Glasgow, $500 barrels; to
Manchester, 5000 barrels, Portland to
Liverpool. 1000 barrels; Montreal to
Liverpool, 10000 barrels; to London,
1900 barrels; to Glasgow, $4,000 bar
Tels. Halifax to London, $4,000 bar
rels.
The export market continues good
for good fruit, and duh and weak for
poor fruit.
Paying More For Choice Apples.
IL 10 unfoi tunate, but remarkable,
how year after year that portion of
the produce commission trade who
are large buyers Of apples get the
wrong end of the stick. Early in the
season 1t was almost the unanimous
opinion In Chicago that the apple
crop was the largest since 1896, and
that the purchasing price should be
quite low in order to make the deal
safe one. But even at that, IL was
believed that there YVES the little
profit in sight for the season. At least
one Chicago apple house has one of
its members in the east buying Bald
wins at s2 %, who refused to buy
them at s1.50 earlier. Said one nf the
memberd, "We were like every one
else, afraid to buy at sl.50. When
the price got higher we finally decid-
ed to buy at Sl.75, but we're still
afraid to act. We have just bought
1900 barrels of Baldwins at ~. 25 that
we could have owned at one time at
$780,"
Zone of the wisest firms In the east
seems to have been Loomis Bros,
who bought all the choice val iieties
early it could get at 81, two and half
Inch pack. Around this price Loomis
took in Spies, Spitz, Kings, Talman
Sweets and Greetings. Mark Owen Il
Co., of Chicago, was one to dip In
the earliest and most deeply for east
ern apples. This firm bought at the
same price as Loomis, except smaller
size, two and quarter inch pack.
Owen secured 15, 900 barrels early. A
little later Owen Il Go. bought anoth-
or lot of 1000 barrels. The party had
not much more than sold to Owen be-
fore he discovered his mistake and at
tempted to wiggle out OF the deal
Louis Owen promptly went east to
hold the sellei to his contract.
One of the worst faults of apple
buyers is the praoticeof buying sor
chards In lump. There is too much of
disposition to get something for
nothing. AS one of the shrewdest
eastern apple men put it, GAS soon
as the apple orchards are In blossom
the Chicago buyers are here wanting
to buy the orchards in lumr." In
carefully going over past experiences
in this market, the proof and results
seem to be that the only businesslike
way to buy apples is to buy an Or
chard at certain price per barrel
for No. l fruit. Then the only thing
that can go against the purchaser Is
the market. Those who go around
swelling out their chest buying or
ohards In lump invariably get the
worst OF IL. The owner Of that or
chsld has gathered the crop year after
year and knows almost to a nicety
what 1t will turn out. The buyer is
the one who Is doing the specnlating.
Fruit Trade Journal.