THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 21, 1919
9
MOSIER FRUIT GROWERS' ORGANIZATION
PUTS DISTRICT CONSPICUOUSLY ON MAP
Affairs Are Conducted in Thorough, Business-like Manner to Bring Best Possible Returns to Members.
Mistakes of Others Prove Valuable.
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BY ADDISON BENNETT.
WHEN I speak of the Mosier fruit
,. , . -
district I mean that portion
of Wasco county that borders
on the south side of the Columbia
river, the county of Hood River on the
west and a range of hills on the east
and south. The town of Mosier, the
trading point of this district, lies on
the Columbia river and the O.-W. R.
& N. railroad. It is distant about
six miles from the town of Hood
River on the west, and The Dalles on
the east is distant about 15 miles.
These distances are by the railroad
or river, and they will be about the
same when the Columbia river high
way is completed that far. Work is
going forward rapidly on this road
and it probably will be open to traf
fic early next summer, but may not
be hard surfaced until 1921, o,r maybe
late next fall.
I always have heard Mosier, or
rather t.he Mosier district, spoken of
as one of the best organized fruit
districts in the United States; and
after looking it over carefully I can
state that it is more than- likely in
better shape as a district than well,
1 not say it surpasses, in its or
ganization, mind you, all other dis
tricts in the northwest, but I will
make the broad statement that it has
as good an organization as any other
district in the territory last men
tioned. That statement does not imply that
the Mosier people are smarter than
any other orchardists in the north
west. Not at all. Mosier gained its
pre-eminence because it is a small
district and the tree planting there
was a little tardy compared with
other districts. So when the orchards
came into partial bearing, when there
were shipped from Mosier a half doz
en carloads of fruit in a season, the
orchardists started to build up a 100
per cent fruit organization for the
handling of their fruit. So they had
no occasion to thresh out the whys
and wherefores of the troubles en
countered in similar districts. All
they had to do was to avoid those
errors and take up the best features
of the best organizations in the coun
try. They did that with the result
that of the 110 growers of fruit in
the Mosier district 110. or every moth
er's son and daughter of them, be
longs to the Mosier Fruitgrowers' as
sociation. Best Price la Object.
Of course, the main object of this
association is to market the fruit at
the best possible price, and such a
price has always been received f. o. b.
at Mosier.' So when the fruit ts
loaded on the car, having already
been soid by telegraph or mail, a
draft is issued for the amount and
the shipper can go to the Mosier
bank and get his money. Never a
pound, box, bushel or crate is shipped
on consignment. This comes from
the fact that every box, crate and
carload of Mosier fruit is so graded
that it was just the same four, three,
two and one year ago as it was this
year, and always will be the same
in the years to come. Every package
shipped bears the Mosier brand and
the name of the grower. Every indl-
vlduai pacUer mif8t receive a license
to pack from the association and
rlarp tii Hi-nnrt nn i' -1 t- niti'lrapa
For the careful sorting or grading I
and packing of the frt
ult, and its unl-
formity. the association is altogether
responsible, for always it has stood
by its guns as to the grading,
wrapping and packing. Charles T.
Bennett is superintendent of packing
at the association plant. The least
deviation by any grower means the
return from the association ware
house of all such faulty packages. To
have fruit thus returned and having
to open the package, regrade and re
wrap and again pack it, takes all of
profit off and no grower will be
caught twice at the game. Only a
scattering few have been caught at
all, and their troubles arose through
incompetent help.
Already the Mosier association re
ceives mostly repeat orders from east
ern buyers who have bought during
the last few years, for the apples
or pears from a certain grower, and
some of these orders were a repeti
tion of orders received in previous
years. So the growers know that all
they have to do is to grow and pack
their fruit and take it to the ware
house and forget about it for a few
days, when a check for payment in
full, will be received.
I suppose if I were to ask a dozen
fruit growers in various parts of the
northwest how a similar association
could be made successful in other dis
tricts, half of them would say by
growers standing together. To that
reply 1 would add a further and more
important condition, and that is, that
to prove successful such an organi
zation must first have a competent
manager and then back him up. And
there is just where the Mosier peo
ple struck the mother lode that car
ried them to success, for there is no
man in the northwest better fitted
for that position than the manager of
the Mosier association, R. D. Chat
field. I have put that compliment
broadly, to embrace every branch of
his multitudinous duties, at the re
quest of at least a dozen of the Mo
sier growers, and I believe it is the
truth.
Dr. Macrum la Booster.
The other officials of the associa
tion are as follows: Amos Root,
president, and John Carroll, secretary.
The directors aTe C- M. McCargar, a
member of the Portland firm of Mc
Cargar, Bates & Lively; Lee Evans.
Dr. C. A. Macrum and the president
secretary and manager. Let me side
step just a moment to say that Dr
Macrum, one of the directors, is one
of the mainstays and the father of
Mosier. He was formerly one of
Portland's well-known physicians, but
a dozen or so years ago ne gave up
his practice and went to Mosier and
planted an orchard. I think he never
practiced his profession there. He Is
a Mosier booster clear through and
all the time. Not particularly of the
town, but the district. I know of no.
man in Oregon more generally re
spected by his neighbors than- Dr.
Macrum.
Now let us say something about
climatic conditions at Mosier. It like-
ly will surprise the reader to learn
that that district has about a normal
precipitation practically every year;
that is, around 30 Inches. I believe
it sometimes shades down to 24 and
2b, but it usually runs from 28 to 30
And that is one reason whv the Mo
sier gro
growers are confident they have
the best fruit district in the north
west.
The reader will about now begin to
ask what sort of fruit is grown in
that district, so I will answer that
question by giving the varieties In
about the order of production: Apples,
prunes, pears, cherries, peaches and
apricots. Quite a lot of strawberries
used to be shipped from there, but
new there are practically no berries
of any kind grown commercially in
that section.
While the prune business is not en
tered into very largely, those who
have good prune orchards are the for
tunate ones, particularly now with
prunes selling at about 10 cents a
pound. And 1 must mention the fact
that at the Panama-Pacific exposition
at San Francisco the Mayerdale or
chards of Mosier took the first prize,
carrying a silk banner, a silver loving
cup and a bronze medal as the first
emblems for prunes, with some 200
entries to contend with. And Royal
Anne cherries! Gee! If I should but
relate the story of the blue ribbons
and the prices received this year, and
also former years, for the Mosier
Royal Anne cherries, I would hardly
dare to visit some of our other fruit
districts.
As to the output of all the fruits
mentioned, I was told by Mr. Chat
field, in carloads, there will be this
year more than 125 carloads of ap
ples, 16 carloads of plums and green
prunes (21,458 boxes), seven carloads
of pears. 75 tons of Royal Anne cher
ries. 5000 boxes BIng, Lambert and
Black Republican cherries, and 5000
boxes of peaches and apricots.
Figures Are Gives.
If the reader wishes to get at the
amount of money received for this
crop of 1919 by the Mosier people he
will be safe In estimating the apples
at $2 a box. the Royal Anne cherries
at $185 a ton, the other cherries at 20
cents a pound, the peaches and apri
cots at $1 a box, and the pears at
$3.50 a box. I am willing to admit
that the totals are stupendous when
it is considar-sd that there are only
110 growers (and shippers) In the
Mosier country. That these figures
are padded by Secretary Chatfield I
do not believe; that they are padded
by me, I will say positively they are
not.
Of course, Mosier, the town, Is a
small place, now being smaller than
usual, for only a few days before my
visit a fire destroyed two of the prin
cipal buildings of the town. The fire
started in the middle of the day and
could have been subdued with little
damage had the citizens had plenty of
water and some little fire equipment,
say a couple hundred feet of hose. But
they had nothing with which to fight
the flames, so all the citizens could
I do was to carry water to protect other
I buildings ana let tne burning build
1 ings go. I am rather of the opinion
i that in tne near, very near, future
the Mosier people will be prepared
to combat fires in their town.
1 went Into the postofflce and bank
to see about how the people came
across in the buying of bonds and war
savings stamps. I learned that in
every loan, and drives for the Red
Cross, Salvation Army and T. M. C. A.,
Mosier's quota was forthcoming
promptly and in full. The postmis
tress. Miss Leonora Hunter (and
many Mosier people think her the best
and most accommodating official on
earth) sold during 1918 $12,000 worth
of W. S. S., and has sold over $5000
worth in 1919.
Mosier has a good hotel conducted
by John Elder, and his daughter.
Miss Lizzie Elder, is the renowned
chef. The Hotel Mosier, as It- Is
called. Is not a pretentious affair, but
It is very neat and homelike, and has
reputation for serving excellent
meals.
Bank Has Fine Home.
The Mosier Valley bank occupies a
fine brick building opposite the post
office. L. J. Merrill is the cashier,
Charles T. Bennett president and J.
P. Carroll vice-president. It is doing
a good business and growing rapidly.
The cashier says the deposits here
more than doubled since he took
charge a short time ago.
E. M. Strauss is the mayor. He is
also one of the leading merchants.
carrying, I think, the largest stock of
goods in town. I mean the largest In
value. He carries a general line like
all big country stores.
W. S. Charson carries a large stock
of hardware and C. G. Nichol does a
large business in groceries and shoes.
The fine drug store and adjacent bar
ber shop recently burned, but it Is
supposed the owner of the lots, Mrs.
Jefferson Mosier, will soon rebuild.
But the big work in Mosier ts the
great concrete building of the Mosier
Fruit Growers' association, which is
not quite completed. But 75 per cent
of the Mosier valley crop will be nan-
died through that plant this year
They were packing apples when I was
there, the packers being the orange
pakers from southern California, the
SOTne people who packed the crop on
the great Churchill orchard at Dufur
Ben. H. Betz of Los Angeles contract
ed for the packing, and he surely has
many packers who wrap and put
away the apples so fast that the eye
can scarcely follow the movements.
The Mosier Fruit Growers associa
tion was financed in a frontier way
It was conducted in some old sheds
for a number of years, and gradually
accumulated a surplus of severa'
thousand dollars. The officers knew
the 1919 crop could not be handled in
the old buildings, so they had plans
drawn for the present edifice; but
how to raise the money was a quan
dary. It was, I believe. Dr. Macrum
who suggested that the association
issue five-year 6 per cent notes,
each equal to a share of stock, then
sell them to the growers, and that
scheme was put before the growers
and the building was put up and
paid for. and the dividends will can
cel the notes. If that was not a wise
movement all around then I never
heard of one!
Supplies Are Handled.
The association deals in ail sorts of
orchard supplies, nursery stock,
spray materials and machinery, lad
ders, boxes everything the orchard
1st uses to raise and harvest his crop.
In addition they deal in hay, alfalfa
and feed. As they buy in car lots
they can make a fair profit and get
more money for the growers.
In fact the Mosier Fruit Growers'
association is the sort of an organ1
zation that all frilit growers have
dreamed about and labored for, but
very few have realized their dreams.
Another industry at Mosier is mak
ing good, the cider works of C. A.
Hage. He makes as fine cider as can
be had anywhere, and pays particu
lar attention to cleanliness. All ap
ples are washed before grinding into
pulp. He will turn out about xvau
barrels this year, but hopes to finance
a plant about three times the size
for next year. He cannot now be
gin to supply the demand. He ships
In barrels, half barrels, kegs, gallon
Jugs and quart and pint bottles, all
handsomely labeled. His sterilized
elder, which he heats to 184 degrees
Fahrenheit, will remain sweet for
several weeks.
I will now give a partial list of
the Mosier valley fruit growers and
their acreage. Nearly all have some
cherry, pear, prune, peach or apri
cot trees in addition to their apple
trees. W. H. Weber, of Weber Wagon
Works, Chicago, 165 acres; Mayerdale
orchard, adjoining Weber's, 135 acres;
W. W. Vcnsel. 100 acres; C. L Mc
Kenna, 100 acres; C. A. McCargar, 55
acres; Mrs. E. L Home, 55 acres;
Morden brothers, 50 acres; J. E. Car
penter, 50 acres; Amos Root, 40 acres;
Dr. C. A. Macrum, 40 acres; the
Misses Shogren,. 40 acres; J. P.. Car
roll, 30 acres; J. M. Carroll, 30 acres
G. C. Carroll, 30 acres; Dr. David
Robinson. 30 acres: Morton ft Alzl
sheiner, 30 acres; SahlBtrum & Devln
40 acres; W. O. Coleman estate, 30
acres; George Evans. 25 acres; S. EL
Evans, 25 acres; Lee Evans, 25 acres;
C. C. Brooks, 20 acres; R. D. Chat
field, 20 acres; V. R. Brooks, 20 acres;
J. Proctor, 20 acres; Frederick Page,
20 acres; Matthews & Matthews, 20
acres; James Cherry, 20 acres; A.
Grosser, 18 acres; Mrs. V. A. Hunter,
15 acres; T. H. Gordon, 10 acres;
Frank Ginger. 10 acres; F. A. Howard,
10 acres; E. J. Middleswart, 10 acres;
A. A. Marsh. 10 acres; J. P. Ross, 10
acres: I think that makes nearly
PORTLAND JIDOE
TODAY.
SPEAKS
Judge J. P. Kavanaogh.
Judge Kavanaugh will address
the members and delegates to
the Holy Name society at Cathe
dral hall. Seventeenth and Couch,
this afternoon at 2 P. M. This
society is an organization of
Catholic men, having for Its
purpose and object the venera
tion and worship of the holy
name of Jesus, one of its prin
cipal functions being he ab
staining from profanity, obscen
ity and swearing.
Four times a year delegates
from the various parishes in the
city gather together for In
structions and to report on
progress during the past quar
ter. All are invited, whether
delegates or not. A programme
of speaking and suggestions for
the betterment of the society is
arranged, terminating with ben
ediction of tne blessed sacra
ment in the parish church.
a -..
1400 acres, but only names about one-
third of the growers.
Of course no person could go to
Mosier and miss hearing about one
of the largest herds of milk goats In
Oregon, which Is located a half-dozen
miles south of the town. W. F. Rip
ley and -Mr.-. Ripley, who was until
recently Miss Miriam 8heRon. one of
Wasco county's most popular school
teachers, have a herd of 96 goats, and
Mr. Ripley, as well as Mrs. Ripley,
thinks they have an ideal location
and hope to build their herd ud to
several hundred. They turn the milk
Into roquefort, neufchatel and other
"imported" varieties of cneese. which
they sell by parcel post at about 75
cents a pound, and the demand Is
far beyond their capacity.
Always when you thnk of Mosier
you should think of Mayerdale and
its owner, Markie A. Mayer, and If
you miss visiting him In his splen
did home you will miss as fine enter
tainment as can be found in Oregon.
Markie (I would write it Mark, but
nobody would know htm by that
name), is a son of one of the found
ers of the great wholesale dry goods
house of the west. Fleischner. Mayer
& Co.. of Portland. For more than
30 years Markie served that Hrm, first
as a clerk and then for a quarter of a
century in charge of their New Tork
house. Then he quit, retired, aban
doned the bright lights and became
the Laird of Mayerdale, which Is on
the new highway about 1H miles east
of Mosier. He built one of the finest
country homes in the west, furnished
It In exquisite taste and lives there
as a laird should live. It was nearly
a dozen years ago when he bought the
240 acres he owns. It had a 30-acre
prune orchard growing, the rest was
barren. Now he has 135 acres In vari
ous fruit trees and this last season
his fruits have netted him a big in
come over and above his expenses
so mucn so tnat if he were not a
Christian he would cuss the Income
tax. He Is now fixed for life, regard
less of the decline or fall of the great
firm of which he Is a member, for he
and his sister. Mrs. Solomon Hirach.
have the largest holdings in that firm.
In telling of Markte's success 1
must not forget Professor Shlnn nor
Mrs. Shlnn, who Is the daughter of
rreeiuent Kerr of Oregon Agricultural
college, nor Baby Shlnn, whom grand
pa often goes to Mayerdale to see.
Legkorm Part of Plant.
jr-roiessor sninn nas ror several
years been in exclusive charee at
Mayerdale. and as Markie expresses
ne nas made good with a bin G
The professor not only has charge of
ne orcnards and farminir onerations
but of the 3000 White Leghorn fowls
kept on the place. They expect to
hip many thousand baby chicks the
oming spring, and raise the number
of laying hens to 5000 or more or
lae quit, for Markie says there i
no money in a "small" flock like he
now has. And you can bet Markie
knows. He can refer to his books and
tell you every cent expended on the
place since he went there, and every
cent that has come In. Professor Shinn
says the laird of Mayerdale is the
most remarkable accountant he ever
knew.
Well, Markie is a methodical man in
other respects. For instance, he rises
very day in the year at 6:30 A. M
bathes and Mis breakfast, then lunch
at noon, dinner at 6. crawls into h!
bed at 9. He upset that schedule a
bit white I was there, but we got to
arguing as to the name of the next
treet south of Franklin street. New
York. (I think I now remember It
s Leonard.)
'Tige' Reynolds Makes Star
fish Grow Potatoes.
Cartoonlat Nnture Wlsard Known
in Tncomn aa "Mayer of But
Island."
TACOMA, Wash.. Dec. 20. (Special.)
When E. 8. ("Tigs") Reynolds
decides to give up cartooning he can
make an excellent living as professor
of marine agriculture, or something
Ike that, at one of our best agricul
tural colleges.
"Tige" now lives on the shores of
Puget sound. The soil of the family
homestead Is somewhat roeky and
gravelly ind "Tlge" has been per
plexed what to use as fertilizer and
general soil builder-up.
Enter the star-fish.
"See these potatoes," quoth "Tige."
"Heti them. See their good shaoe.
Notice their weight and general qual
ity. 'Now those are tea-grown pota
toes.
Tell you what I do. I dig my po
tato hill. At the bottom of the hill
I place a nice, well-developed star
fish. Then I plant mv seed. A few
onths later I have such fine not t-
toes as these, which would canture
all the agricultural college prises."
air. -neynoias raises roses, too, but
the star-fish has to be toned down a
little. So he dashes' out Into Puget
sound In his motorboat, hooks onto a
bed of kelp, drags it to shore and
mixes it with star-fish to produce a
first-class rose fertilizer.
Maybe they'll call 'em the Reyn
olds' rose," said the cartoonist, as he
showed some of his winter blooms.
Old you ever see finer roses than
those In Portland?' Of course, the
Interviewer had.
Mr. Reynolds has helped to solve
the high cost of living, too. He drives
out in his motor boat into the sound.
ee a lonesome log, attaches to 'it.
hauls It to shore, and then develops
muscle by buoking it into lengths.
As to hauling the cordwood to the
family home, "Tige" feels that is be
yond the dignity of a cartoonist, so
his 12-year-old son Is subsidized for
the purpose.
So. as he looks at his well-filled
woodshed and contemplates the al-
racst Inexhaustible supply wandering
tn the waters of Puget sound. "Tige"
Is Inclined to scoff at coal strikes.
snow and ice and other tribulations.
He Is known In Tacoma as "Mayor"
of Bay Island.
Mr Reynolds formerly was car
toonist on The Oregonian.
TRADE ADDRESS BILLED
Hood River to Hear Mr. Wheel
wright on Oriental Question.
HOOD RIVER. Or., Dec. 20. (Spe
cial.) W. D. Wheelwright, promi
nent in Portland financial and com
mercial circles, will address Hood
River people early In January on the
oriental question. He will discuss
America's commercial relations with
the orient.
Mr. Wheelwright will deliver his
address under auspices of the River
side forum, recently organized by the
Hood River Community church. W.
S. McClatchy, publisher of the Sac
ramento. Cal., Bee has announced his
inability to fill an engagement here.
Police Judges to Encourage Thrift.
SAN FRANCISCO. Dec. 20. San
Francisco police Judges have agreed
to a proposal from officers of the
war loan organization here that con
victed persons hereafter may be com
pelled to buy war savings stamps
rather than be fined or sent to jail.
Last of Stanford Estate Sold.
STANFORD UNIVERSITT, Dec. 20.
The last of the old estate of Gov
ernor Leland Stanford, the 350-acre
Barron tract, adjoining the univer
sity, has been sold. Tts new owners
will subdivide it into small home
sites,
ALL "FIXING" FOR THIS CHRISTMAS DINNER
TO BE MADE FROM HOME-GROWN PRODUCTS
Every Section of Country Has Contributed Its Quota for Repast That WH1 Be AU-American Foreign
Delicacies Replaced From "Soup to Nuts'" by Products Grown Here.
a-
WANT to go home for Christ
ie mas dinner. In these brier
homely words Is perhaps crys
tallized more of the genuine holiday
spirit than in any other phrase by
which man refers to the greatest of
all holidays.
"I want to go home for Christmas
dinner." It Is the desire to get back
to the old family home and festive
board that starts a study of the cal
endar early in December.
"I want to go home for Christmas
dinner." All the wanderers say It.
be they far or near, and when Christ
mas approaches, all other thinss can
go hang so the train can be caught
that will take them back to the old
fashioned homestead and the glorious
feast that only mother knows how
to prepare. There is sure to be the
turkey done to a turn, the cranberry
sauce to go with it. the home-grown
vegetables, the apple, mince and
pumpkin pies and the fruit, nuts,
dates and other fixings, small Items
some or them uui very necessaij i
make he dinner quite complete.
As mother ami father, Mary, Jim
and the kids and perhaps a married
brother and sister or two sit around
the festive board they are so thankful
and nappy to be together that It la
very doubtful if any of them give a
thought as to how many of their fel
low Americans people they do not
know and never will, contributed
their efforts to making their Christ
mas dinner a success. Particularly
in reference to "the fixings, for u
the old home happens to be on a farm
while the turkey and the vegetables
are probably home grown the "fix
ings" come from far and near.
Before the war many of them, such
as dates, figs and nuts were even im
ported from forelsn lands, but now-.
a-days they are all home grown, mat
Is. produced In one section or another
of tl continent of North America.
Cranberries Are Neccaaary.
To begin with, cranberries, so very
necessary to give the turkey just the
proper flavor, are distinctly
American, having been originally
found by the early Pilgrims in Mas
sachusetts on the Cape Cod peninsula.
There they grew wild on the low
marshes near the shore. The good
housewives picked and preserved
them as a delicacy. It Is probable
that the Pilgrims served cranberries
with the wild turkey at Thanksgiving
time and in this manner the cran
berry became closely associated with
turkey and our Thanksgiving dinner.
Cranberries have been cultivated
approximately 100 years, during which
time the industry has undergone a
steady Improvement. It has devel
oped rapidly In the last 20 years
through improved methods of culti
vation, marketing, grading and pack
ing. Co-operation among the grow
ers has also been a factor in this de
velopment, which has changed some
2E.000 acres of waste bog or marsh
land Into productive valuable proper
ty. The maximum crop produced prior
to 1907 was less than 400,000 barrels.
The crop of 191S, just seven years lat
er, was approximately 640,000 bar
rels. A full crop on the acreage now
planted should total 750,000 barrels.
An average crop now should be
600,000 barrels, but has only averaged
476,000 barrels, the last ten years.
Most of the harvesting is now done
with scoops, although cranberries can
be harvested very rapidly and very
cheaply by floating the vines, so that
the berries float near the surface of
the water, and raking them off. Those
are known as "water raked" berries
This practice has, however, been en
tirely abandoned in Massachusetts.
New Jersey and Long Island, as cran
berries that are harvested in a wet
or damp condition, regardless of any
drying process thereafter, are gen
erally considered as having doubtful
keeping quality. Oregon and Wash
Jngton are now large producers of
cranberries. ,
From the days of the scriptures un
til very recently all the dates which
graced the Christmas dinner tables In
American homes were imported from
oriental countries, Asia, India and
China producing large crops.
In recent years, however, in the
Salt river valley of Arizona, most
excellent dates have been grown and
those to be found on American dinner
tables this year are domestic grown
Few people have any idea of the
very prolific nature of the date palm
A bunch of dates weighs 20 to 25
pounds, so that an average years
crop may be reckoned at 300 to 600
pounds per tree, thus as dates are
as yet only eaten but sparingly In
this country. It would not take, after
all, such an enormous number of trees
to supply the Christmas needs of
America.
uta to Grace Tablea.
Nuts, English walnuts particularly
will grace many Christmas dinner
tables this year, and add just that
proper tip-off to the feast to round
it out into a most satisfactory whole
But these nuts this season will not
be English, that is. they will not be
Imported from Great Britain, as they
were for many years, but will all be
home grown and come mostly from
California, where the growing of wal
nuts has recently developed Into i
w.onderful Industry which already has
increased the national wealth to the
extent of more than tl2.000.000 per
year. An idea of the enormity of this
business which has grown up In
fow years may tie gained from the
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fact that last year's crop amounted
to 37,000,000 pounds
When "nutting" time rolls around
on the Pacific coast thousands of peo
ple are busily engaged in the harvest
for eight or ten weeks without a
pause. California now produces 98
per cent of all the walnuts grown In
the United States and 90 per cent of
the crop Is grown In five southern
countries. Oregon also grows wal
nuts of the first quality.
An inspector goes into a carload
of walnuts and takes a handful at
random from every tenth sack. aThis
gives him perhaps 150 to 200 wal
nuts. From these he manes a cracK
of 100 walnuts. After making this
crack he opens other sacks in the
shipment and selects a second and
again a third crack of 100 walnuts
from every tenth sack different
sacks being chosen for each test. Un
less three or four test cracks out of
the lot indicate that at least 90 wal
nuts out of every 100 are perfectly
sound and of the proper size and
weight, the lot is rejected and turned
back to be regraded.
Almonds. crisp, crunchy, home-
salted with all their appetising good
ness, are another standard "fixing"
on many Christmas tables. For years
all of these nut.- consumed during the
holidays in the United States were
imported, sometimes in the shell and
often without, from France. Spain,
Italy and the Levant, but of recent
years America has been growing her
own almonds for the holidays and
never has the old world produced fin
er nuts than those grown under the
warm California sunshine. They are
the full-meated. paper-shelled kind,
and bo good that In the few years
they have been on the market they
have made the California growers the
largest handlers of almonds in the
world.
In the days of our ancestors all the
oranges, grapefruits and bananas
that appeared on their Christmas din
ner tables were Imported and were
scare and expensive. Now California
and Florida between them produce all
the grapefruits and oranges we need
for Christmas, and all the rest of the
year, besides a surplus supply for ex
port. As for bananas, while most of
those we consume are still Imported,
at the same time we are beginning
to grow this fruit In Florida and cer
tain sections of the west, with most
satisfactory results, and It Is pre
dicted that the time is not far dis
tant when most all our bananas as
well as oranges will be home grown.
At Christmas time the American
people must have their homemade
apple pie. and this season prohibition.
which prevents stronger drinks ap
pear ins on many dinner tables, has
created an enormous demand for
sweet country elder. Between the
two, that Is, the demand for apple
pie and cider, the figure that apples
are selling at this holiday season
has made millionaires of a good many
hortlculturallsts in the great fruit-
ralsing country of the Pacific north
west.
i When buyers for the large commis
I slon houses in New York and Chi
cago came Into the country In the
early fall they were astonished at the
attitude taken by the apple men.
Heretofore It had been no effort at
all to contract for thousands of boxes
of the different varieties grown at
reasonable prices. Now the ranchers
not only refused to sign any con
tracts, but would not place any fig
ure on their crop. Keports to this
effect were sent east by the buyers.
with a request for advice. Then it
was the real boom started.
Out of the east came men bearing
gunnysacks full of money. They were
the agents of a big million-dollar
corporation organized east of the
Mississippi river. Their object was to
purchase extensive acres of orchard
land, thereby controlling the fruit
industry. They visited the real es
tate agents In the various towns and
cities, explained their mission and
asked to see the fruit lands for sale.
No prairie fire ever swept a coun
try more rapidly than the news that
eastern money was to be had simply
for the asking. Ranchers hitched up
their Dobbins and made for town as
fast as the .animals could travel.
Thoughts of opulence and luxury
filled the mind of every land owner.
Sell? Certainly he would sell every
thing. Including household furniture.
dogs and cats, provided he could get
the "right price." Money was what
he was after.
Orchards which a few years ago
could be purchased for S200 and SS00
an acre are today bringing S2000 to
X2500 an acre. Boxes of apples which
the grower considered profitable if
sold at 75 cents and $1 per box, a
good profit,, are today selling at J3
and $6. During the last few months
It Is estimated that more than a
million dollars has changed hands In
the apple country, for the American
people simply must have their apple
pies and cider at Christmas time, no
matter what the cost.
DEAF??
Thousands Have Been Enabled to
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