lo Aug., 1911-] Citrus Fruit Culture. ^I'j 



Curing the Fruit. 

 The question has often been raised as to why imported lemons will keep 

 in a fine condition, and for a longer period than the local fruits. This is 

 generally due to the following facts : — 



First, that local fruits are picked when too ripe, and thus they will 

 not keep for any considerable time. Lemons which are allowed 

 to remain on the trees until they have well developed their 

 colour, will never keep for any length of time. 

 Second, the cut fruits have not been sweated. 



Third, the fruits have been handled carelessly and bruised. Fruits 



intended for keeping should be handled as carefully as one 



would handle eggs. 



Fourth, imported fruits are generally submitted to a curing process 



before being packed and exported. 



Lemons should be gathered for market long before they are at all 



coloured ; coloured lemons are over developed, over ripe, and will not keep 



for any length of time. The fruits should be cut quite green, or, perhaps, 



when it is noticed that they are changing from green to a silver-green tone, 



when the tip of the fruit is beginning to turn lemon-coloured. If the fruit 



is required for immediate sale, then it may be coloured by being stored 



and stacked in a room where the temperature can be raised to and kepii 



at about 92 deg. Fahr. The heat may be obtained from gas jets or from 



oil heaters. In either case, open vessels of water should be kept in the 



room, to keep up an adequate supply of oxygen and moisture in the air. 



The room should be free from draughts or air currents. The fruit will 



colour by this treatment in from four to seven days. It must be constantly 



watched ; as, if the process is continued for too long a period, the fruit 



will rapidly deteriorate and soon decay. The fruit should, when well 



coloured, be slowly cooled before being despatched. 



In California and in Italy, lemons are often cured by simply piling 

 them under the trees in the shade of the foliage, and lightly covering them 

 with grass or straw. Sometimes the fruits are packed alternately with 

 layers of dry sand, and stored in a cool dry place. 



The most general method is to pack the fruit in trays or shallow boxes, 

 packing these in cellars or darkened stores, where the air is kept cool, 

 fresh and drv ; the stacks are covered with canvas, or with large tents. 

 Under these conditions, the fruit will keep for months. The main features 

 to be observed are: — keeping the temperature regularly cool, excluding air- 

 rurrents and light, and keeping the air fresh and the rooms well ventilated. 

 Good and proper ventilation is the main factor to success. 



Varieties. 



Fortunately, very few varieties of oranges, lemons and mandarins are 

 catalogued by local nurserymen, and planters are thus less liable to make 

 errors in planting than when a large number is listed. Probablv the fact 

 that seedlings take a verv long time to fruit has prevented the multiplication 

 of varieti(^s. 



On no account should seedlings be planted in the grove, unless for the 

 express purpose of working over with recognized fruiting varieties. Seed- 

 lings are generally very slow in fruiting; some seedling trees were growing 

 in the Bendigo district for over twenty years before they fruited. 



When seedlings do produce fruit, in the majority of instances it is very 

 inferior, thick-skinned, and very " raggy." A grove of over fifty seedlingj 

 orange trees was at onc^ time growing on thf^ banks of one of the rivers in 



