The daily sentinel., 1910-01-14

realize what great difference there
is-or may be-in any market at any
time between the finest perfect fruit
fully up to grade in every particular,
and fruit that is just a little off, of
uncertain quality, or of uneven pack.
1T is comparatively little trouble
to sell the good fruit of standard
grade and pack. but the off grades
require great deal of attention. We
can book orders for all our fancy
sitter Bartlett Pears at market price
before the shipping season opens, but
no one will buy the 6-tier in that way
they must be shipped out and di-
verted to the market that looks best
at the time, and we have never yet
found the market that would ask for
more. Elberta Peaches, extras and
SOS, are in demand always, but the
l0S's. unwrapped, blemished and
ripe, are hard propositions. Also
strictly fancy well-colored, well pack
ed apples of standard varieties, can
all be sold before shipping time, but
the off varieties. grades and packs
are troublesome.
BY referring TO auction catalogues
and sales in all the markets every day
during the season, my statement that
there is more money in growing high
grade fruit than lower grades, Will be
fully substantiated. The difference
in prices obtained will more than pay
for the extra labor required.
The question now is. how TO i'm
prove the quality of our fruit. There
are great many things in the cul-
ture of fruit, which we all know. if
thoroughly done, will materially i'm
prove the quality. The principal of
these are pruning. thinning, spray
ing, irrigation. cultivation and fertil-
ization. If a grower thoroughly IN
derstands all these and does them to
the best of his ability, there will be
no trouble about the quality of The
fruit, and If the fruit is all high grade
there will be no trouble to pack II in
a satisfactory manner.
Irrigation aud cultivation, ! be-
lieye, are quite thoroughly under
stood and practiced by our growers.
| am of the opinion that pruning is
probably the most important of these
subjects and one that is most neg
lected by our growers; especially do
| think this is true of pears and
apples. With proper pruning we
would have very small per cent of
6-tier pears and understood apples.
| | heard an experienced pruner from
the Sacramento valley say at one
time that he would be afraid to prune
a Bartlett pear tree for grower in
this valley according to his best judg-
ment. as the grower would immed-
lately accuse him of running his tree
and ask him to leave the orchard !;
however, they have grown pears in
| California for great many years and
have been successful, in fact. they do
not ship 6-tier Bartlett pears at all
and | am informed that they grow
nearly none.
Several years ago our association
employed three expert pear packers
| from California to help our growers
through the pear packing season and
/ consider that the information that
these men furnished regarding pack
| ing. has been of great value. 1t is
my idea that our association should
at this time secure the services of
some experienced primers to show
our growers how they would prune.
While this expense should not be
borne by our association as 1t would
benefit all the growers in the valley,
still | am sure that the five per cent
commission on the additional returns
on pears, which this would bring,