The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1914-03-13
COMMERCIAL APPLE OR
GUARDING.
Editor Caldwell Tribune:


The commercial apple orchardist
is often asked by his friends, DO Won
hope to find room to market all the
apples you are growing?" In nv
own case we expect to produce in a
single season three hundred to four
hundred carloads of apples from the
orchards in my care.
What are the conditions surround
ing the future market of the CONNER
cial apple? This day in Lincoln
Nebraska, | found Ben Davis grown
in Kansas wholesaling at So per bar
rel, Jonathans at $3.50 per barrel and
other varieties in barrels at similar
prices. Western box apples whole
sale at $2:2S to- $2.7S per box. The
Yakima Fruit Growers Union are
selling WInesaps f. o. b. Yakima, Wn..
at $2.25 per box. These prices are
extraordinary and arise from the fact
that the crop of apples for 1913 in
the United States, with boxes comput-
ed IN barrels, was only twenty-five
million barrels as against forty-five
million barrels for the crop of 1912.
The average production for the I'm
tied States for the last ten years has
fallen to not far from thirty million
barrels annually. Whenever the
crop falls below forty million barrels
the commercial grower may be sure
of good prices for his apples if prop
erly grown, packed and marketed.
On the streets my friends tell me
that oranges are. as cheap as apples.
that while the consumption of oran-
geS is up to the limit of production
the orange does not take the place of
the apple. The apple can be eaten
for many months in the year and
can be cooked in many and varied
ways. 1t will be difficult to develop
any other fruit which will really SUP
plant the apple in the markets of the
country. The banana people tell us
that by persistent advertising, wide
distribution and forcing the fruit into
consumption, oftimes by very low
prices, they have been able to increase
the consumption of the banana from
ten thousand to seventy-five thousand
carloads annually, Their effort is to
make the banana the working man.
and the children's fruit.
The apple orchardist has these con-
ditions to contend with. He must or
ganize campaign of education, cal
ling attention to the many and varied
uses that can be made of the apple.
and must endeaver to inaugurate diff
ferent systems of distribution I'm
der previous methods too many car
loads of apples were shipped to the
large centers. The smaller towns
able to handle car or one half car,
were often overlooked and neglected.
The retailer usually asks more profit
Tor his work in distributing the apples
than the grower can hope to make
on the entire years work. To illus
trate, in my home town / supply the
local merchants with apples at $3.50
per box and they Immediately dispose
OF them at $2.25 per box, a profit of
500 on an article in his hands but
a very few days. Should these APP
pies go on the stand or be sold by
the grocer by the pound or by the
peck and one-half peck the selling
price is likely to be doubled. This
phase of distribution will require ear
nest attention.
Now in the matter OF production. We
know that millions OF apple trees
have been planted in Montana, Wash
ington, Oregon and Idaho. These
states have the climate, soil and watei
suited TO large production. What,
then, vii happen to the millions OF
trees planted in the states and sold
to nonresident investors? II the
nonresident investor finds himself
really able to give up his present line
of work or business and to give per.
sonal attention to the care OF his five
or ten acres purchased, he should Sc
cure satisfactory results, or il he is
able to place the care of his nom
resident orchard in the hands of some
capable friend, or some responsible
company that can give the same care
TO his orchard they would give their
own, his orchard will then become a
producer of commercial apples to be
thrown on the markets of the world.
II these orchards are not intelligently
aud skiIlfully handled, il the owners
or caretakers fail in pruning, spraying
for scale, spraying against coddling