The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-09-15

early varieties of peaches now coming
to the market are only little watery
things at best and are this season
showing the usual run of inferiority.
No real lover of fruit will ever monkey
with such worthless stuff, and, in fact,
the Alexanders, Early Crawfords and
Triumphs have no place in the COM
mercial world. Such varieties should
at once be worked over to alberta, or
some other variety" AS tumble OF
misconceptions this takes the cake.
What is said here is largely true so far
as the Alexander is concerned and to
some extent of the Triumph, but the
man who classes the Early Crawford
with the Alexander must have taken
too many drinks-or else he does not
know what he is talking about. And
to say that the Early Crawford has no
Mace in the commercial world is very
wide of the facts in the case. The
highest price realized for any variety
of peaches thus far this year in Seat
tie was for some Early Crawfords
from nv own orchard. They brought
S1.25 per box in this market. Inc
Early Crawford is usually not so large
as the alberta, but under good cond1-
tions packs 56-and in some cases AZ,
but this is rare. Last year, while at
Portland. H. E. Van Deman said to
me one day: 81 want you to go down
! into the agricultural building and see
some of the finest peaches l ever saw.
The peaches referred to were Early
Crawfords from Douglas county, ore
gon. and were certainly not surpassed
| nv ANYTHING shown at Portland during
the fair. I was there during the entire
fair and saw nothing so fine. And yet
this editor of a valuable farm paper
published in a state that grows fine
reaches. classes this variety with
'1ittle watery things" and worthless
stuff" Come, brother, give us a rest!
The Early Crawford is called early
not because it ripens at the time OF
the early peaches but because II is
ten days or two weeks earlier IMAM
another Crawford. From my own or
chard we shipped Alexanders the Sec
ond day of July and Early Crawfords
the middle of August. The fact is,
the Early Crawford and the Foster,
which is practically identical with 1t,
and by many claimed to be the same
peach. come in at time when there
| is a demand for good yellow peach
and thus fill a niche not filled by any
other and they sell we'll. In my new
orchard I have two thousand Elbertas
and six hundred Early CrawfOrdS and
Fosters. 1 can move these two va
rieties out of the way before the Ell
berta is ready to ship. Not much
working over to Elberta' for me.
| n
Bro. H. M. Williamson, editor OF the
Oregon Agriculturist, in recent is
sue gives the following timely warn
ing: From reports that have come
to this office it appears that Lang &
Co., of Portland, are trying to induce
prune growers to believe it is to their
interest to dispose of their coming crop
at very low prices. This is not exactly
new business for Lang & Co., and
growers have no particular business to
follow the advice of the firm named"
In addition to this Friend Williamson
gives other evidence along this line
and says among other things that H.
K. Newell, president of the Oregon
State Board of Horticulture, is doing
the best he can to counteract the eff
forts of the prune dealers who are en-
| deavoring to make contracts at very
low prices for Oregon prunes. He has
called the attention of the public to
the facts which show that there are
no grounds which justify extremely
low prices at which buyers are now
urging growers to sell"
|
These suggestions are timely and re-
veal what l have so often tried to i'm
press on our readers, viz, that there
is very often an effort by dealers to
| boor tho y,,arlotc Till thav can Inv Or