Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-10-06
SUNCREST IS
BUSY PLACE
ALL FIRST-CLASS APPLES ARE
INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED
FOR PACKING.
VERY few CULLS ON THE TREES
Tidings Representative Visits Big
Orchard and Witnesses the Work
of Picking, Sorting and Packing
Crop of Newtowns.

ne IlulHSS representative visited
the Suncrest orchards last Friday af-
ternoon in company of DR.. Adam
son of Window, MINI. These Or
chards are well worthy a visit at
any time of year, but especially in
the autumn when the fruit crop is
being harvested. The crew at that
time runs from so to over 100 men
and women, the latter being en-
ployed largely in the sorting and
packing. On Friday there were IS
men engaged in picking Newtown
Pippins, 13 men and women were
engaged in packing, while a large
number were employed as truckers,
teamsters, etc. The work in the or
chard is under the direction of Mr..
Lohr, the foreman of the ranch,
while the packing is done largely un-
der the supervision of Mr.. H. F.
Meader, the gentlemanly manager.
Though very busy at this time, Mr..
Meader took time to show the visit
ors around the packing house. The
thing which was most noticeable was
the very few culls in the orchard.
This was because the orchard had
been most carefully sprayed and
thinned, and the trees properly
trimmed, as well as because the fruit
is so carefully handled. An apple, no
matter how fine, which falls to the
ground, even if dropped by the pick
ers, is not used or taken to the pack
ing house. To an eastern man it
looks like wanton waste to see ap-
parently fine apples lying under the
trees. These may be gathered up
later and used for hog feed or to
make cider
Arrived at the packing house, the
fruit is first sorted and then every
apple of the fancy quality is wrapped
in a separate piece of paper before
packing. Expert packers receive 5
cents er box for packing, and some
make So and over per day.
The fancy fruit is each apple
wrapped separately and marketed
under the blue triangle brand of the
Rogue River Fruit & Produce Asso-
citation, the seconds being marketed
under the red triangle brand.
The first car shipped this year was
car of Jonathans billed direct to
Cape Town, South Africa.
One of the noticeable things about
the marketing of the crop is the care
with which the fruit is handled.
Each picker has a canvas-lined pail
to pick in and the fruit is very gent
ly let out through the bottom of the
sack in the pail, into lug boxes. In
marked contrast to this the writer
passed an orchard the same day
where the sound of the apples as
they struck the bottom and sides of
the ordinary galvanized iron pals
used to pick them in could be plainly |
heard from the road. The manager
of this orchard will probably holler
about favoritism because his apples |
do not sell as we'll as those from the
Suncrest.
Mr.. Campbell of Medford, proprie-
tor of Suncrest orchard, was up Fri
day looking after extensive improve
ments which are being completed on
the place. A large spring about 40
rods from the house has been exca-
waited an cement reservoir about |
eight by eight feet in size and eight
feet deep has been constructed. From
here the water is piped to a pump
house near the farm buildings and
into pressure tank which
will supply the packing house, bunk
house, superintendent house, barn
and yards with water, and also a
residence for Mr.. Campbell which he
expects to erect in the near future
as a summer home. The pumping
Is to be done by electricity. The en-
tire ranch buildings are being wired
and will be lighted by electricity, the
Juice" being furnished by the Cali
fornia-Oregon Power Company.
The day the Tidings representative
visited Suncrest there was a smaller
crew than it is expected will be en-
ployed next week. The help problem
IS one of the most serious to contend
with. the number of men employed
being so great that it is necessary to
depend partly upon transient and
floating help, which is always very
unsatisfactory.
Mr.. Meader also showed the visit
ors some samples of field corn, pump