The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-10-31
SOUTH OFFERS
APPLE MARKET
DEMAND FOR BOX FRUIT INCREASES
Dealers in Section Where No Apples Are
GrOwn Are Finding the Western Fruit
More Popular Each Year.


whether 1t be in Chicago, Memphis.
. New Orleans or Los Angeles. if the
traveller from the land Of apples makes
/ known the place of his residence. he is
sure Of ar0using the interest of annie
dealers, or so far as that is concerned
almost every individual Of the general
public. Hood River valley fruit is
known to all borders of the country.
and favorably known.
Because of my recent two years
residence here and my interest in the
distribution of the product of the
community, made it a point while
travelling through the south to deter
nine IN as great degree as possible the
altitude of the wholesale dealer, the re-
tai man and the consumer toward the
western boxed apple. Three years ago
the quantity of western fruit consumed
below the Ohio river was very, very
small. However, there has been a
steady increase until at the present
time the demand is becoming worthy
the attention of northwestern fruit
regions. South of Tennessee no apples
at all are grown. In the state of Ten
nessee the production of old home
orchards has rapidly decreased in the
past five years, until il has become
very, very small.
The old time planters and farmers
used to raise large crops of excellent
Irult. Winesaps, Timber Twigs, Rome
Beauties and Paragons, the latter of
which are said to be identical with the
Arkansas Blacks of the west, were the
favorltes. While the orchards did not
receive any especial care, the briars
were kept 1eut from among the trees
and they produced well. The old-tim-
ers all had apple cellars, in which the
best keeping varieties of thier fruit
might have been found as late as
March. When the crop was large those
who had more than they needed for
their home consumption, gave freely to
their neighbors. No one sold apples,
except the windfals, which were
hauled away in bulk to the distileries,
where they were purchased for as
toundlngly small prices by the manu-
facturers of apple Jack"
The state of Tennessee, north Georgia
aud the Carolinas have some excellent
fruit land on the plateaus of the Cum
btrland range. That is. the soils to be
found there are well adapted to the
growth of apples. However, the eli
matte conditions make any commercial
undertakings of apple culture rather
hazar ious. Because of the fact that
during the past twenty years two
out of every three years, and perhaps
worse, late frosts have caused the ap-
pie crop to be an absolute failure, the
farmer not only failed TO plant home
orchard, but the idea of planting q
commercial sorchard in this region has
never seriouslysentered his mind. This
may be stated as the general rule. A
few comercial apple orchards are being
planted in this district, but they are
far between and mostly of earlier vari-
cites, such as the Early Harvest.
The consumers have been used to the
barrel apples, Greetings and Russetts
from Michigan and other northern
points, but the trade seems to be fa-
voring more and more the western APP
pie. The big dealers in the central
distributing cities are learning that
the grocer in the small town is finding
ready sale at good price for the
box product The western apple is
favored because of the ease with which
it may be handled, and the honesty of
the pack. In Fayetteville, Tennessee,
a town of 1900 inhabitants with a
large surrounding agricultural area, !
determined from interviews with diff
ferent grucers of the city that during
the past season all the way from half
dozen to two dozen boxes of western
apples had been sold there each week.
In another city of a population of no
more than a thousand, the leading
grocers were finding a demand for
fancy box fruit.
"Our best city customers and the
well to do farmers buy this fruit, "
they say. "The demand for it is in
creasing. If we haven't got the better
class of apples they will nearly always
buy oranges. Each one of the larger
southern cities last year used large
quantities of western boxed fruit.
Wenatchee Winesaps, Yellow New
towns from Colorado, Winter Pear
mains from Utah, Arkansas Blacks
from Yakima and Hood River Spitz-
enburgs. And the larger buyers de-
clare that they are going to use more
and more as the years pass.
The dealers have not yet learned the |
best methods of handling western |
fruit. Their storage facilities are not |
the best. However, they are remedy |
ing these defects and are placing them |
selves in much better condition to |
handle and store fruit. Memphis, one |
of the larger distributing centres in
the south, has recently completed |
storage house that compares fayorably |
with those of the northern and middle
western distributing centers.
Southern fruit consumers are not
only using western box apples, but all
kinds of fruit, pears, peaches, fresh
prunes, grapes and cantaloupes. J saw
Yakima peaches on sale, and selling,
In the grocery stores OF the smallest
villages. The markets in the larger
titles we're offering Tokay grapes from
California and Oregon fresh prunes.
Jantaloupes from La Junts, Colo,
we're bringing as much as 25 cents a
piece. However, the western canta-
oupes will probably never enter the
southern market again. The melons,
If as good quality, can be grown at
lome. And farmers will begin the
planting of them, if not to compete in
,ther markets, at least to supply home
demands.
Strange to say. the Arkansas apple
las never seemed to figure TO any
,reat extept in southern markets. Nor
las the Virginia fruit ever been sold
here at all. The red apples Of Vir
,inia go to northern markets and the
Albemarle Pippins to England. | met
young orchardist from Charlottes-
lille, with whom | travelled from New
orleans TO Houston, Texas. 1t is a
ustom of growers in his community,
e told me, to sell their fruit while on
he trees or to consign it to commission
nen to sell for them. Just before be-
.inning his journey west he had har-
esvetd his Pippin crop and had shipped
he entire crop. consisting of four car
oads. to a Liverpool commission man.