Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-11-13

attract representatives of those foreign
business houses engaged in the fruit
trade 20 our own orchards. Such ideas,
then only dreams. have come to be real
tiles. SO that now there is hardly a
neighbOrhood of fruit growers in the
State but is annually canvassed by
agents from Liverpool and Glasgow in
the interests of the foreign trade in
orr Maine grown fruit. These cOndi-
| lions fittingly represent the increase
in fruit growing in our State since
this Society was organized in its aid,
and in the development of which 1t
has held an active part. Yes. and this
Society is clearly seeing the opportunity
for a still greater development: of tie
industry in the near future than has
been its history in the past.
| COLD STORAGE
| The orchards in our State have al
ready outgrown the provisions for car
ing for and handling the fruit after
grown The crop of marketable apples
Just harvested in our State is estimated
to exceed 1000 900 barrels. In n singl"
towns it exceeds $1,000 barrels. a single
county approXimates a half million
barrels, and individual orchards have
reached the plural thousand. These
Quantities call for room after take.
| from the trees. Yet there is not a rem
| tal stora &c house in the State. and tho
| private store rooms constructed for
this purpose can be numbered by the
IdiCits en- one hand with the fingers
uncounted. Thousands Of barrels OF
| this choice fruit was OF necessity tenn
porarily stored in barns, sheds and
other outbuildingS and thousands has
tened 20 market on reduced values, and
still others frozen on the trees lost, all
for the want of provisions for quick and
safe storage facilities. This must not
continue if we would encourage the
further planting of trees. What the
business now first of all calls for is q
cold storage warehouse at Portland to
which fruit can be forwarded direct
from the orchard, and held till called
for by market demand. Possibly cold
storage and shipping centers on the
line of the railroads may meet the
demand of the business. and it needs
no argument to show that private facil-
tiles for Temporary storage are neces-
sity on every fruit farm.
| This is q matter calling for action
|
ci.ty can at this stage of conditions
surrounding our fruit interest do no
better service than to aid in establish
| ing storage facilities adequate to the
reels of the fruit crop Fruit interests
hav, reached Il stage where something
different is cealled for other than plant
| iES mere trees.
| CULTURE.
| For several years this society has
been doing valiant service to the fruit
| interest of the State through it's ur-
! gent appeals for better care and cul-
tire of the trees. One has only to go
| through any fruit growing section of
| the State to find the evidence that this
| teaching has been needed in Soodly
! measure. Indeed no small measure of
the bounty of the crop just harvested
] vas due 10 the influence sent abroad
| through the agency of this society. But
| the call for further work is still abroad.
| There are still more trees than fruit in
| the state. Your president has gained
| some lessons in the last three years
I thai had he learned them earlier in
| life would have been greatly to his adj
| vantage Others need these lessons. 1t
! is not the purpose at this time to dis
! cuSs how this needed culture is best
aDni'ed. but To urge continued attention
to this important feature Of successful
! fruit growing. In the past years good
crops OF fruit have been realized when
nature got into a friendly mood and
| gave us tho benefit of her good fellow
sl,ir. In the late harvest note what the
tender" baldwin has given. in return
/ e., ;.,tD
and hundreds of orchards, following
| one OF the coolest winters on record;
the fruit on a short acre of Northern
| Sry trees, sold on the trees for six hum
| dred dollars; note the Romance Of a
kenncbac Fruit Town" when related
! later in the program of this meeting;
| fail not To take into account the scores
| of Their bountiful crops you will learn
| of ct this gathering. and then rcmem-
fcr we have but just begun to realize
| the opportunity open to us in our
gcodly state for continued successful
fruit production. While we have made
vast strides of progress, the hand of
possibilities is bcckoning to us even
| more earnestly today than when we
frs. took the responsibility into our
hands to lead the way to the still great
or 1chleVelnent now plainly within our
reach.
VARIETIES
The question Of varieties to plant will
not down with the bidding so long as
there are continuous enlistments of
| new recruits to the ranks of tree plant
ers. This is today. as in the past a
matter of vital Importance to the in
dusty. Your president is on record in
claiming that superior quality of the
fruit is the leading factor of value and
therefore never should be omitted from
the calculation in deciding the question
OF variety to plant. We have had
Ben Davis lesson the past winter. An
otn,r chapter will be given at this
meeting. The present system of selling
trees has possible trend toward mis-
leading in this dominant factor of
quality. The business Of the tree sales
man is to sell trees. 1t is as natural
az breathing that a salesman will fall
into line in recommending the kind that
is selling freely. Usually this is a.
variety the genuine merits of which are
little known. Thus it is that good, old