Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-06-30
Be SAFE
THAN BE SORRY
RANCHERS REGRET THAT THEY
DID NOT CONTRACT FRUIT.
CHERRIESNOW OFFERED CANNERY
Fruit Growers Who Failed to Heed
Requests for Information as to
Fruit Available Find Themselves
Without Market.

eve regret that we have been
compelled to turn down several Of
fers of cherries to can," said Mr.
Ames of the Bagley Canning Com
pany to the Tidings representative
the other day. DIR. Bagley made
every possible effort to ascertain the
probable number of cherries availa-
BILE for canning purposes in time to
make preparations for handling them
but in vain. There was not a single
reply to the requests through the
press and otherwise for information
along this line. 1t only left us the
option to believe that there would be
no cherries available this year, so
we went to work to process our
prunes and get them ready for the
market.
Now at the last minute when it
is impossible to handle them we are
requested to take large numbers of
cherries. We regret very much that
this is so, but it is absolutely impos-
sible to make arrangements and as
semble help for canning without
some assurance that there will be
fruit available. OF course the fruit
grower wishes to get the highest
possible price for his. cherries or
.other fruit, but sometimes the aver
age returns do not go with the high
est top price. In California the fruit
growers are finding that the man
who contracts at least major por-
ton of his output to the canhery
makes more in the long run than
does the man who depends upon the
capricious market for fresh fruit.
"One grower remarked recently
that half his crop was all he could
afford to gamble on and he was go
ing to contract at least half his out
put to the cannery next year. Then
he would be sure of a market, even
if the price was not the highest A
sale of all of a mans cherry crop
right at home at 5 cents per pound
is better than the sale of one-third
to one-half at cents per pound and
the loss of the other half because of
poor condition or poor markets.
"The canning company wishes to
help the fruit growers in every way
possible, and will do so to the extent
of its ability, but it is absolutely i'm
possible to handle a crop of fruit
without some assurance that we are
going to have it to handle. We can
not assemble a crew, put in place
the equipment required for that par
ticular fruit on days notice, after
the fruit is all ready for market. We
hope that the fruit growers will real
ize this and make arrangements in
the future in advance for at least
part of the crop of each kind of
fruit.
What makes it all the more ag-
gravating that we did not have no
tice that there would be cherries
available, is that we have received
kilograms from jobbers asking to
contract all the Royal Anne cherries
we could can. Had the raisers of
cherries let us know that they would
have them to sell at canning prices
we could have saved them loss and
made some money for ourselves.
The same is true of loganberries.
We are receiving appeals daily for
relief in the way of market for
loganberries when it is almost too
late to get ready to can them.
1T is to be hoped that next year
the fruit growers will get in touch
with us early in the season. We
must place our orders for cans far
in advance and we dare not do this
unless we know that we are to have
fruit to put in them.
I'VE are as anxious as the fruit
grower can possibly be that the pro-
1ucer get all possible out of his fruit,
as the prosperity of one means the |
of all, and we hope the
growers will not only cooperate with
us but give us the benefit of their
longer experience in the valley, that
we may be of the most profit to them
and that they may be enabled to use
the cannery profitably to themselves