The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1909-03-27
WESTERN COMPE-
Triton IN APPLES
CORRESPONDENT FOR GREEN'S
FRUIT GROWER TELLS OF
WHAT HE HAS SEEN IN EAST.
ERN MARKETS.

l have just returned from a trip
to Washington, Philadelphia and New
York, and in all of these cities 1 have
found the fruit stores and the mar
kets well supplied with fancy fruit
shipped in baskets from the states
of Idaho. Oregon, Washington and
elsewhere throughout the west.
Each specimen comes wrapped in pa
per and each apple is a perfect speci-
men without wormhole or blemish of
any kind. I did not find an apple on
which the fruit stem was broken.
The breakage of the fruit stem would
be considered a defect. There are no
bruises on the apples caused by ship
ment
The varieties 1 found offered were
the Grimes, Staymna's Winesap, Spy,
Banana, Jonathan and Ben Davis.
While in most cases l found the
name of the variety stenciled on the
box, I discovered that the retailer of
these western apples in the eastern
markets could not inform me as to
were selling. Stayman's Winesap
the dealer said were Spitzenburgs.
Some of these Western fancy ap-
Piles, notably the Jonathan and Ar
kansas Black apples were so firm of
texture as to be scarcely in good, con-
dition for eating. After keeping
these apples two weeks they did not
soften, but had a tendency to wither.
Stayman's Winesap was in prime
condition for eating. l Toasted upon
this apple all through my trip. 1t
is of good quality and of tender
flesh.
At Washington the price of fancy
apples shipped in boxes from the
west was five cents each. l saw some
Northern Spys offered at Washington
at ten cents each, but these were of
marvellous size, beautifully covered.
the best Spy apples I have ever seen.
At New York City these fancy apples
were selling at from 6 to 10 cents
each, with a slight reduction when ,
bought by the dozen. Oranges in all
of the three cities were selling at
less than half the price of these ap-
pies.
I inquired of the prOprietOrs of
these eastern fruit stores if they kept
any western New York apples for
sale. The reply was that the western
New York apples were down and out.
there being no demand for them on
account of their not being we'll grown
nor we'll packed.
1t is as plain as the nose on your
face that there is a good demand in
all of the larger cities for fancy APP
pies at from cents to 10 cents each,
but it is equally plain that such ap-
pies at present are grown and packed
only in the west. If you will look in
the exhibits in the eastern states, you
will see few apples almost equalling
the western fancy apples in appear
ance, but you cannot buy carload
of these fancy apples of any but the
western growers.
This question arises. Are eastern
apple growers satisfied to grow low
grade of apples allowing their west
ern competitors full control of the
fancy markets by means of which the
western fruit growers get more for
a small box of apples than the east
ern fruit grower gets for barrel OF
apples containing about three bush
els? 1t is possible for the eastern
orchardists to grow as fine apples as
the western orchards produce. But
this will require new methods
throughout. We have as good soil
In the east. In order to succeed in
growing apples we must see that the
trees are properly pruned not only to
a reasonable amount of sunshine to
color the fruit; we must keep the soil
enriched and cultivated and in dry
seasons must irrigate our orchards.
I am of the opinion that 1t will pay
to irrigate the trees even If water
has to be hauled for that purpose.
Remember, there is scarcely any lin
1t to the expenditure of labor and
money upon apple trees which are
producing fruit which retails at from
to 10 cents each.
Eastern fruit growers have more at
stake than simply the profits of fancy
fruits. They have the reputation as
fruit growers to look after. We In