The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-09-11
APPLE CROP SHORT
BY LATEST REPORT
Stories of Excessive Yield Cred
tied to Manipulators-Good
Prices Expected

The American apple crop this
year. from indications now, will be
much smaller than was expected.
There is not going to be the bumper
yield the country over that the buy
ers have been looking for. Such talk
was largely for the purpose of de-
pressing prices at the opening of the
season. According to the st. Joseph
Fruitgrower, one of the best posted
and most reliable papers of the mid
die west, the quantity of marketable
apples available this year will fall
far below the fruit buyers early esti-
mates and good prices should be OBJ
tanned by the growers. The Fruit
grower says:
"All reports concerning the 1912
apple crop agree that the prospective
crop, including all sections where
apples are grown commercially, has
'deteriorated since the Fruitgrower' S
reports for last month were publish
ed. The governments reports, as
we'll as those from Fruitgrower's
correspondents, agree as to this. 1t
the crop has been injured by drouth,
by insects and by apple scab or the
extent to which this injury will con-
tinue.
Further Decline Predicted
sit is generally believed by those
who are studying the situation that
next month will show still further
decline in the condition of the crop.
In parts of the country the weather
has been very dry and apples have
not grown as they should have done;
in other sections apple scab is more
injurious than usual and conditions
have been ideal for the spread of
the disease; in still other sections
for the reason that many trees are
too full of fruit and apples will be
small at harvest time.
In sending out crop-report cards
this month we asked correspondents
If buyers are talking prices. No one
reports any prices having been made
but all agree that buyers are talking
big crop and correspondence low
prices. Many of them claim that the
apple crop for 1912 will be the larg-
est since 1906. While it seems that
eral years just past, our rer IS do
not indicate crop equal to- .ose of
1902 or 1904, which were ,er 49,
100000 BARREL per year, Tor is it
believed the yield will equal the 49,
100000 barrel crop harvested in
1900.
Opinions Differ on 112 Crop
ut is very evinent that the mar
keting of the 1912 apple crop will
be a ticklish business because of the
great difference of opinion which
SENS to exist between the buyers and
growers. 1t is also very evident that
conditions are such that what now
promises to be a very large apple
crop may shrink to a very ordinary
crop before harvest time, because of
the conditions which exist in many
of the best apple-producing sections
By next month better estimate of
the crop can be given and perhaps
one can get a line on the prices at
that time.
zone thing seems evident and that
is that the Jonathan crop will be
light throughout the middle western
states Buyers agree that this vari-
ety will be short and say that prices
should rule strong as compared with
prices for other varieties, 1t is also
evident, if statements of buyers are
to be believed, that they will not buy
at any price a lot of the wormy,
scabby apples which are likely to be
offered to them at harvest time. If
the buyers will persist in this stand
then really good apples should bring
fair prices this fall.