Evening star., 1915-02-17
Convention Delegates and
Others Interested in Indus
try Pay Visit of Courtesy.
ADDRESSES AND PAPERS
IN ASSOCIATION PROGRAM
Many Themes piscussed-Session to
Close Today, Following the
Election of Officers.

President Wilson received shortly be-
fore / o'clock today the one hundred
or more delegates, with their wives ana
the friends. OF the Eastern Fruit Crow
ers- Association. which this afternoon
is bringing to n close Its fifth annual
convention Following assembly In the
lobby of the Raleigh Hotel the dele
gates marched In a body to the White
House, where they met the President
The final session of the convention met
at . O'Clock
officials Of the Department OF Agri-
culture delivered the principal ad-
dresses at the session this morning.
papers being read by c. T.. Close.
pomologist of the bureau OF plant In
dustry. and by II. j. Gould of the same
bureau.
1T is high time that something
should be done to standardize sizes in
apple barrel packing, declared Mr.
Close, who advocated the New York
apple grading and branding law which
went into effect last July. He said
this measure might well be adopted
by every state in the union which pro-
duces apples for barrel packing
Standards and Grades.
1T appears that the establishment Of
a standard size for each commercial
variety is not the best solution Of the
marketing question: asserted the
speaker Let us consider the Sulzer
law, which is good as far as IL goes.
but which does not go far enough. IL
provides for a standard grade mini
mum size Il. 2h and inches in trans
verse diameter These sizes are too
small for such prominent mention and
are of little satisfaction to the man
who is producing really good fruit.
This law should be amended to include
2%, 3. az and 3is inches minimum
sizes"
The apple-sizing proposition was pro-
vocative of much discussion by the
delegates. The general sentiment OF
the convention seemed to be for the
elimination of smaller sizes. Some or
the growers declared that the reason
they favored mixed sizes packed in the
same barrels was that foreign buyers
seemed to feel that the small apples
in the barrels filled up the holes.
Whereupon another dealer declared
that he would just as soon sell holes
as apples.
Senator Hoke Smith Of Georgia, who
was scheduled to address the conven-
tion this morning on Results OF the
Marketing BILL" sent his regrets to the
delegates, saying that he was tied up
at the Capitol
Advocates Publicity.
Speaking of grape culture, a great
vineyard stretching from Hagers-
town to Bristol. Tenn. within the
next twenty years. was predicted by
F. II. La Baume Of the Norfolk and
Western Railway Company, who ad-
dressed the convention on the ques-
ton OF publicity. Mr. La Baume de-
clared that the west has been built
up by effective publicity. and said he
believed the Virginia apple could be
introduced all over the United States
hy the same methods.
At the conference meeting held last
night talks were made by A l.. Quain-
tance of the Department of Agricul-
ture, c. B. Hart, w. NJ. Scott, E. p
Cohill and j. NJ. Rothwell.
Following the wind-up of the bGsi-
ness, including the election of officers.
late this afternoon. the convention
will adjourn.