OCR Text |
Show I Horticultural Products for 1902. It is estimated that the apple crop of 1902 Is about double that of 1901, but tbo rainy season impaired the keeplng quality of fruit in some portions por-tions of the country, notably New York, where large amounts were forced onto the market early In December De-cember and sold as low as 15 cents per cwt The best Jonathans, which command tho highest markot prlco, were grown in Missouri and Illinois. These are now bringing $6.50 per barrel, bar-rel, against $2.60 to $3.00 for choice gToenlngs. Irrigation grown apples from Colorado and Idaho, which have been marketed in bushel boxes, were of the finest quality and commanded top prices. The entry of Armour & Co. and other packing Arms into tho fruit' trado on a big scale has frightened fright-ened out sotno of tho smaller dealers. The trado In apples and other fruits ti being revolutionized In other ways. Cold storage bouses have been largely large-ly erected in apple districts and It U believed that stocks In storage at this time are larger than ever before. Combinations among growers and better bet-ter methods of packing and market-l market-l Ing favor shipments direct from the I - growing to the consuming point and the trade of Chicago, which has been a distributing center, has suffered In consequence. Tho practice of selling crops In bulk on tbo trees for a cash Dguro to dealers who pack and market mar-ket them, appears to bo growing. Consignments to commission dealers as a rule are of Inferior quality, and local commission men have discovered discov-ered tho necessity of sending buyers Into the orchard districts early In the leason to bid against buyers from other places. This was particularly notlooablo this season In the peach trado, large shipments being made direct di-rect from producing points to places heretofore supplied by Chicago merchants. mer-chants. Tho melon trado of Chicago, which was very heavy, has demonstrated that the Gem melon of Illinois and Michigan can not hold Its own with Its finer flavored rival, the Rocky Ford cantaloup of Colorado. Illinois H and Michigan crops were largo but prices were far below those of former H years. The watermelon crops of lilt-H lilt-H nols and Indiana were of One quality JH and the yield largo. Prices opened at Hi $78 to $80 per car, receding as low as H $25 before the close of the season. H The first melons of the season from Tyler, Texas, brought $300 per car. . W The grape crop was llght and dls- K appointing, particularly In New York, where the yield was not more than It half the usual average. High prices I J were maintained throughout the sea- ; . son and wino makers had such dlffl-I dlffl-I culty In securing stocks that the vlnt-I vlnt-I age of 1S02 will be about 60 per cent short. The cranberry crop was also short about 60 per cent, and tho keeping quality of tho fruit impaired by wet weather. Prices at this time, ($8.50 to I $9.00 per barrel) aro higher by a dol- lar per barrel than one year ago. Reports indicate that the yield of H late potatoes In eastern states was light, but Wisconsin and Michigan growers had good crops which they H sold at 30 to 40 cents per bushel. H Chicago quotations at the close of the B year were 40 to 60 cents In carload lots. H, Possibilities In Truck Growing. B Recently tho writer was favored B with a visit from Mr. Fred Engel, of B Dol ton, Illinois. That gentleman is Hj a truck gardener, and on a little over Hj 25 acres of land makes a living for BJ his family of six persons. He says Hj he could make a living off 10 acres Hj if bo had too. Asked as to his most HJ profitable crop thlB year, be replied HJ that it was, asparagus. Off this he B .bad in tbo past cleared $200 per HJ acre. This is an illustration of what He Intensive farming can do. He had HJ also, ho said, made good profits from HJ his crops of potatoes, cabbages and HJ onions: Intensive culture must be HV, looked to for profits In the future It f W""yT 's uot B0 much a problem of how to Wfa get mora land to farm, as It is a Hj question of bow to got oft the land HJ now under cultivation double the He amount we now obtain. That such HE an increase Is possible on the aver- He ago is absolutely certain, as the av- BE erago production per acre is very HJ low. The uso of fertilizers makes it HJ possible to increase tho products of HE the garden, and tho draining of the RE land, where natural drainage is not Hv perfect, is another means to make BJ the land more productive. BJ Thore aro great possibilities of de- BJ volopmont In this part of the farm BJ work. By tho last census moro than H 150,000 farms are shown to be grow- HK tlng such largo quantities of this HR .kind of produco that they aro put Hh down undor tho head of , vegetable HK farms. We can learn much In meth- Hj ds from tho French und Belgian Hag farmers, who grow tremendous crops Hjw, on small areas. Tho gardeners BP around our groat cities are also mak- Bj lug tomu good records, which should HEft bo taken to heart by tho men whoso Bujf methods needs Intensifying. Farm- HSkE ors' Rovlow. |