The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1910-11-17
For the Railroads on Ac-
count of the Increased
Production.


increasing production OF apples in
the Northwest has furnished q
problem which the great railway
systems centering in ST. Paul will
have TO solve. Howard Elliott
president OF the Northern Pacific,
also president OF the National apple
Show. which will be held for the
third time in Spokane. Wash, No.
yember IA to 10, in his opening adj
dress will discuss the question from
various standpolnts.
Despite the fact that thousands OF
new trees have been planted and
the 1910 crop of apples in the
Yakima Valley, Wash, the Bitter
Root Valley, Mont, the wenatchee
district on the Great Northern in
Oregon and the various apple dis
tricts in Idaho is the largest for
several years. the demand for APP
pies and the new markets opened
in all parts of the world will take
every apple raised.
1t is the getting of these apples to
market with which the railroads
are concerned. American apples
are always at a premium in Europe.
Far away Egyptians have taken TO
the fruit and want all they can get
of it. Australia on the other side
of the globe has a growing appetite
for this country's apples. In our
own country where the apple is re-
garded as the most health-giving of
fruits the demand is increasing and
thus the railroads find themselves
facing the problem of transporting
the fruit.
One of the new ideas to bo sug-
gested by President Elliott is the
erection in the great producing dis
trifts of apple storage houses. He
win recommend that the apples, in
stead of being picked from the trees
and rushed to the cars, be placed In
the storage houses where they will
be preceded. 1t has been found
that preceded apples keep better
and taste better than those that are
cooled in refrigerators cars in trans
lit.
There are other advantages in this
plan Of storing the apples near the
orchards in which they are grown.
1t is believed, for one thing, that
the grower will be able to get bet
ter price for his product by holding
it and shipping when market condi-
lions are improved. The grower
also will have more time for hand
ling his crop and will not have to
rush it to the trains.
The apple production in the Yaki-
ma valley this year Will amount to
5000 cars and 1t has beer esti-
mated that the establishment of
new orchards in this district alone
VIII mean the production OF $1,000
cars at the end OF five years. The
output Of the other districts will he
proportionately large
The Northern Pacific railway has
found it necessary to run solid re-
lfrigerator trains of So cars each on
a 91-hour schedule from points in
The Yakima valley to St. Paul, which
is almost passenger train speed. 1t
is doubtful If any railroad In the
country has $4,000 refrigerator
cars that can be used for the haul
ing of single commodity at a Ger
tain time in the year. 1t is to avoid
injecting such an emergency that Mr..
Elliott will recommend that the APP
pie grower hold his fruit in storage
houses and ship 1t as the demand
comes instead of rushing the whole
crop to the East where 1T is placed
in storage and held to the ad-
vantage OF the jobber.
The United States Reclamation
service now has under way the re-
clamation, of hundreds of thous-
ands of.acres of land, much of which
will be devoted to orchards In the
next few years.. Pears. grapes and
other fruits OF course, will he grown
but the apple win remain king and
! II is to get the fruit into the mouth
of the people that the railroads aim.
The work Of the government is sup
Elementary to that OF many private
individuals and corporate irrigation
enterprises that aggregate other
enormous acreages and expendi-
lures. In Montana, It was recently
estimated, about j 100000 acres
were under irrigation by private
companies and individuals. IN
idaho, Washington and Oregon, in
the Decentralization, Columbia
River, Walla Walla. Spokane,
yakima and other valleys the same
story Is true: Consequently it may