The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-02-16
WANTS FRUIT
SOLD CHEAPER
Oregon Editor Tells Horticulture
lists Eastern Retailers Must Be
Held Down in Prices.
DEMAND IS CURTAILED
BY EXCESSIVE DEMANDS
Experts on Fruit Topics Take Up
the Time of the First of the
Three Days of the Farmers
Institute in North Yakima.

Fruit growers of Washington, and
in fact of the entire northwest. must
unite and fight tfeS eastern retail
prices, according to e. H. Shepherd,
editor of Better FrIit. at Hood River,
Ore, who with Prof. w. S. Thorn
Der on Tuesday addressed 200 horti-
culturists at the Commercial club
rooms The gathering was that which
attended in response to the announce
ment of the first day of the institute
here for farmers Two addresses were
delivered in the morning and two in
the afternoon Messrs. Shepherd and
Thornber delivering two lectures
each.
II have seen western apples on sale
in the east at 20 cents piece" said
Mr.. Shepherd. cat first glance that
sounds good and pleasing to us but a
little though will show that 1t is d
condition which does not conduce to
the best interests of the producer in
this section. High prices on the part
of the eastern retailer mean a reduc-
ton in the consumption and conse-
quent falling off in the demand for
the fruit. Therefor the northwestern
growers should unite in an effort to
prevent the eastern retailer from
charging unreasonable prices"
Profits Are Excessive.
Mr.. Shepherd pointed out in this
connection some of the conditions
which may be found. The ranchers
here grows his apples and probably
gets as high as three or four dollars
hox for them. But the retailer in
the east Is making 800 or 400 per
cent, selling the apples as high as SIS
per box, and $50 per dozen was not
an infrequent price.
Organization on the part Of the
western growers is required Mr.. Shep-
herd declared and he is apparently
convinced personally that the success
of the country as whole depends up
on organization and GENERALIZATION.
Without organization the apple grow
err on one side of the street Is COM
peting with his neighbor across the
street. Every grower in a community
is com petjng with every other grower
and every community Is competing
with every other community. In other
words the growers are played off
agaist each other. There should he
one management, according to Mr..
Shepherd. He hoped to see one CEN
tral state organization with all the
other organizations in all the various
parts of the state merely subsidiary
organizations of that body. In fact he
favors, in time, one central organiZa-
ton for the entire northwest which
would thus eliminate competition.
Such an organization could govern
the eastern retail prices and while
seeing that the rancher got an excel
lent profit on his fruit would also see
that the eastern retailer did not get
figure he was not entitled to and
by so doing bring about reduction
in the demand.
Mr.. SHEPHERD advised against the
purchase of cheap trees and advo-
Gated more cultivation and less irr-
cation in the orchards. He also spoke
| a word on behalf of intelligent and
thorough spraying.
Thornbcr on Pruning.
In a very interesting talk In the
afternoon Prof. Thornber detailed his
experiences in pruning based on ex-
periments with trees in the orchard Of
the state college at Pullman. Prof.
Thornber Is opposed to early pruning.
In fact. he says. ne favors no pruning
until after the winter short course AT
the state college is over which e
about the middle of February. The
suggestion he makes in this staten eri
is an excellent one.
Summer pruning was taken up IN
considerable detail by the lecturer
who pointed out how 1t may be made
TO accomplish the work Of bringing
out fruit buds. Summer pruning
! therefore can be made to regulate IN
some measure the yield OF the trees.
Rather instead of alternate crops. by
/
(raotfnued IN iaut nara