Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1908-05-08
Valuable Information for
Orchardists.


manned over until Sunday eyenin2
to interview Secretary Meserve, of
the Fruit Growers Association, ana
the leading fruit growers OF this di-.
trict. Mr.. Day makes trip each
spring through all the principal fruit
districts OF the United States. On
this trip he came direct to California
and fiom there he cam 10 Medford
and thence to Grants Pa,s and frOu
here he went north TO visit the various
fruit districts Of Northern Oregon
and Of Washington, Idaho, Colorado
and thence on east.
The firm of Sgobel & Day has been
in business for 3S years and it was
they who organized the auction system
OF selling fruit that has now come TO
be adopted in all the big fruit mar
kets Of the United States and Europe.
II was this firm that made the world s
record sales Of pears last fail when
they auctioned off car of Comicr
pears for J. W. Perkins Of Medford
for the fabulous price of $4b5S, this
car netting Mr.. Perkins over $4,000
after the expenses CT picking. pack
ing, freight and commission we're
paid, aud as the growing of the
pears and the interest on the invest
ment and land taxes probably stood
him $500 he had q net profit of s25oO.
With such a profit as this 1t is little
wonder that Mr.. Perkins has re-
fused an offer of s15, 900 for his pear
orchard. The other record sales that
Sgobel & Day made we're two cars
shipped by the Medford Fruit Growers
Association, one Car Of Comice with
some D'Anjous that brought $S924
and the other Car of Comice and
Winter Nellis that sold for $942O.
Sgobel & Day also made some record
sales of California pears but at not
the fancy prices had for Rogue River
valley pears. A car of Comice Of
100 half.box sold for $99S6. A car
Of Comice and Winter Nellis sold for
S37S9 and two cars Of Winter Nellis
sold one for s3736 and the other for
S35l4. These pears were all from
Santa CLARA valley, small mountain
locked valley that is the ouly district
in California that is able to grow
pear that can successfully compete with
Rogue River pears for fancy prices.
The Sacramento and San joaquin val
leys are the other pear districts of
California and while good pear Is
raised the quality is not such as will
bring fancy prices. OF grapes Scobel
& Day handled over 100 cars last sea
sou, principally Toksys. Mayhews dis
triot, California, they sold 80 cars OF
Tokays that averaged $685. car.
These cars each contained 900 crates
and each crate contained four ba,kets
OF six pounds of grapes to the basket.
FROM Lodi district they sold A cars
of grapes that averaged Sl4S6 car.
Sgobel & Day also handle large
quantities OF foreign grown fruit.
Just before Mr. Day left New York
early in April his firm got in con
signment of pears, peaches and plums
from South Africa. This fruit was
packed in excelsior with Que layer Of
fruit in box. the boxes being about
the size of our cherry boxes This
fruit was brought from the interior to
Cape Town by rail and thence by
steamer to London and then reloaded
on another steamer for New York
The fruit was under refrigeration all
the time AT temperature of 81 de-
grees and it arrived in perfect oopdi.
tion and sold we'll. Last May Sgobel
4 Day got IN a shipment of apples
from Austi ALA, being brought by
steamer by way Of London and under
refrigeration.
The apples arrived in good shape
but though fresh from the trees, for
the Australian. as also the South
African, fall comes at the same part
Of the year as spring. in America.
they lacked she quality of the Ameri.
can apple and consequently were
slow sellers.
Mr.. Day IL one Of the best posted
men in the United States on all that
pertains 20 marketing fruit and he
willingly replied TO all the questions
that Secretary Meserve asked hin
relative TO the hest selling varieties OF
fruit ON the New York market aud
the quality Of fruit and methods Of
packing required, As to quality Mr..
Day stated that it must be strictly
fancy and that it was sheer tolly.that
would entail little profits or more
likely u loss to the grower to ship 90
long distance markets ANYTHING but
the very best Of fruit. In the East
and in Europe there are thousands OF
people having plenty OF money who
are large consumers OF fruit and who
will pay-a lbig price for it provided