Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-12-23
FRUIT MEN SHOULD
GET MORE FOR
THE APPLES
Pointer TO Pecos Valley
OrchardistS Given by Com
merciaI Club Secretary Who
Went TO Chicago Land Show.

the following address by j. ,. kirby,
secretary Of the Roswell Commercial
club. who had charge OF the Roswell
exhibit at the International irrigation
Exposition at Chicago;
I'm response to an invitation given
me by one of the members of your
association. ! am glad to talk to you
this afternoon, or the Land and lrri-
CATION show recently held in the
city of Chicago.
Il am sorry, however, that your
full membership is not present. as 1
would like If possible to advance some
ideas to help the horticulturalists OF
this section.
WE have the greatest possibilities
today in the whole United States, and
what we need more then any other
one thing, is people to settle up u
many acres Of land that is now aging
idle, who thoroughly understand the
fruit business.
The fruit of this valley
have not yet learned their A 3 Cs
Of the fruit business, they have only
learned the A. In the first place, you
are making a sad mistake in selling
your apples in the orchard, although
it may seem as you are getting an UNI
usually large per cent on your in
vestment. No man can buy a half doz-
en- orchards and market, them, n
advertise the fruit of this country as
ii should be. While it looks like from
s325 to $500 per acre is doing good
enough for the orchardist, and that
he should let good enough alone, yet
the purchaser makes good on his in
vestment, and the fruit shipped out
Of here it not properly packed, the
oar &c MT 44Lana IN ffG hnndlfn& that
viii advertise 10 the world that We
raise the finest commercial apple
grown, and you. Mr.. Orchardist. are
losing the advertisement that will
some day earn you fame that will
cause the leading markets of the
whole United States to long for the
"Pecos Valley Apple" l do not know
whether or not a show apple can be
raised in the Pecos valley, but ! do
know that you do not raise me.
However, as ] have stated before, you
raise the best commercial apple today
in the world, and to the nominal in
weston, you hold out better induce
ments than any other part of the
country.
For instance. l went to the Ma
tional Apple show that was held in
the Annoy in Chicago, and saw at
least twenty car loads of the apples
that were shown in the National
| Apple show just closed at Spokane,
Wash. You could see a full car load
Of Mcintosh Reds, Spitzenburgs,
Wiensaps, Joh~nathans, Greetings Bel
followers. and other varieties, and IL
would seem hat there was not an
apple in the whole bunch that varied
one sixteenth of an inch from the rest.
Their size was better than ours. Their
color was perfect. not a white spot on
a red apple, or a red spot on a green
apple.
"In talking with one of the mem
bers of the Spokane show at the hotel
where l stopped, / asked him, Is the
large apple grown wereby about
forty or fifty will fill a box, a real
commercial apple, and he answered
It was not. They had to sell that APP
pie in the orchard for just the same
as the other, as the purchaser could
sell IL in Chicago for more than ten
cents apiece, n he could buy hum
dreds OF boxes of apples that would
run close to a hundred to the box
that he could sell readily AT the rate
Of three for a quarter. so the show
apple after all was worth in the or
chard at home but one dollar per
box the same as their other fruit of
an A Qudlty,
I'm another department of the ap-
Pile show / asked one of the members
OF the show. What is your raw land
WORTH From $175 to $500 per acre
What does II take to clear it up,
break il, and set 1t to fruit?' We do
this for the investor and charge him
s125 per acre. Now your land set to
fruit, and just started TO grow. has
cost you, taking you lowest figures,
5000 per acre. What does the man
with moderate mean do to make a
living, while his orchard is growing? p
He is supposed to have money enough
with him when he ome to look out
for that In other words, you are
looking out for millionaires ?"
II then told him that a person
could come to this country, buy the
raw land in the arteslan belt for from
t25 to $50 per acre. dig his own ar
/ tesian water, put in his own young
orchard. raise alfalfa, or kaffir corn,
or garden vegetables and make a de-
cent living until the trees become
bearable enough for his independent
living. IT he did not want the trouble
OF digging his W well, he could buy
the land in its primitive state with
500 per acre, and do the same thing,
which looked TO me like some induce
ment 10 the man who has but a small
amount to money to invest. The this
ne agreed with me that we had de-
! cidediy the best of the argument.
unhesitatingly say we raise as good
n commercial apple as is raised in the
world. Dur flavor is unsurpassed, the
apples are Of a size that is of the very
best to the dealer. and the cosumer
hiAiself realizes he Is getting his
I mtney's worth when he buys an APP
pie that will run a hundred to the
box or more
But upon the other hand as I
first said, we are not getting much
more than half what the fruit Is really
worth. Your association, Mr.. Secretary
should see TO il that there was a
market arranged for. further than
I the state Of Texas. You should never
let an apple leave the city of Roswell
that would grade as an extra quail
IT," an a" grade or a !" grade,
without 1t is packed by an experienced
packer. carefully wrapped in paper
and not packed toe tightly In a box.
You know how freight It handled. II
you ship your fruit without 1t being
wrapped. II you have one apple in
the middle OF the box that happens to
be faulty. Il win help in causing a
dozen others to rot. the commission
men can do nothing with them-the
loss is all yours.
II YOU use the careful pack. put
up every box SO that you can give
a reliable guarantee Of It's quality.
L (which Won can do II Won viii foilow