Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-02-17
APPLE PRICES UPWARD;
FOREIGN MARKETS Open
Stocks in+Storasc Smaller Than a
This Date for Several Years.
Foreign Demand Large.
RICHMOND SUPPLY is LOW
W'nesaps and riPpins Higher Than
Ever known-sincc War Closed
English Have Been Heavy buyers.
Virginia Orchnrdist Slow to Learn.

Apples wcrc uovc- higher in Rich
nond than they arc just a, this time.
According 20 the government reports
and all OF the market reports the same
can be SAID of all the apple markc;s
OF the country. Winesaps and pippins
81 4 narrcl, tina; is when they arc OF
the high quality. Other apples are
lnst rs hicll. according 10 reputation,
,rsu-ts gathered from the storage
touScs ana ciscw nero furnish IL Thcrc
iir7e than st the SANE, date in any ycar
Tor the last half decade. Md this
in spite Of the fac, that last year :
aFpic croT. All over the country. and
especially here in Virginia, was. a very
largo ono.
This means tina; this people arc cat.
ing moro anplos than ever before. and
enormous foreign demand for the
->lrcricar grown fruit since the ccssa :
Won OF ,hostii',ics in Europe. The ship
conntr? % hotH England ana France
liaNc been simply enormous.
The stocks now held in the storage
warehouses arc smaller than they have
nccn al this time OF the year III several
Wears, the figures showing that in the
country at large there were on the
iisst day Of this on, month ns a;S5S'oGo bar
ing jus. one third OF !. barrep. where
AZ on tho first d ay of February. 1915,
there were 5.i3o,ooo barrels and -
this year, 10 be l,715,O00 barrels and
3,i5o.ooo boaes less than a year ago.
The Richmond tisures make worse
shcTinS titan The abore The,e. are
houses of this city to-day as there
were a year ago. ~ this time last aoi
'hfTo s Wers not in !ffT 'S etl 100 TOO
cay ,hert arc JUS, 80. 100. There are
: few boxed apples here, but they are
inoiuded in tho above figures, counting
three boxes TO tho barrel.
The. apples now here on storage are
owned by the wholesalers. who some
Eow toreSaU the coming shortage and
they bought las, fall and carly in the
winter and stored the frui, in order
nat they might be able TO supply their
trade until spring. Even after. this
supply, their customers with all the
Virginia fruit they want. and SO a con-
siderable business is being done in this
city now in Northern and Western
rho holders of these $4,000 barrels OF
Virginia apples tthcy arc mainly wine
saps and pippins) could sell out tomor-
demand, but the Richmond holders, as
before stated. arc holding them for
their local and Southern trade.
and this demand is growing every
year. II would GROW even much faster
il tho Virginia orchardists were not so
slow in adopting the boN-packing sys-
tenn. For various reasons this fruit
would sell much more readily and
bring much better figures If it was
carefully graded and packed in boxes
instead OF barrels. but the average Nir-
Sinia orchardist is nightly sot in his
Ways and II would seem that the
storage men and the wholesalers find
il impossible TO win him from barrel
packing and convert him TO the bette.
method OF boxing his apples.
Some day. when the Virginia fruit
growers exercise greater care in grad
ing their apples and adopt the boxing
h4b bit altogether. apple growing will be
one OF the most profitable and one OF
tho biggest industries in this State.