REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEMON 391 



increased protection to enable producers to push the issue of an 

 American lemon for Americans to a successful termination, was 

 rejected by the tariff of 1913. This danger to American production 

 was temporarily averted by the war, but must now be guarded 

 against anew. Whether the lemon can weather the storms of all 

 kinds which buffet it remains to be demonstrated. 



The vicissitudes in California lemon production can hardly be 

 more forcibly set forth than by the following figures by the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture : 



Boxes Produced Farm Value 



1918 3,667,000 $ 9,167,000 



1919 6,551,657 18,999,810 



1920 4,500,000 2,700,000 



Thus the fruit passed from profit to loss in succeeding years 

 the latter being due to the inrush of foreign fruit under the low 

 tariff of 1913 and to the increase of overland freight rates during 

 1920 both of which were to the advantage of importers. 



The best pack of California lemons has a uniformity of size, a 

 finish of skin, a juiciness and keen acidity which are unrivaled in 

 the world. Numerous careful tests have been made of the California 

 lemon in Atlantic cities in comparison with the best south Euro- 

 pean product, and the superiority of the American fruit has thus 

 been demonstrated. 



SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR THE LEMON 



The lemon does best in a practically frostless situation. Such 

 places are found in largest area in the southern half of the coast 

 regions of California, but also exist at favoring elevations in the 

 interior. The moderating influence of proximity to salt water, and 

 the effect of local topography and environment, which give frost- 

 free nooks or belts, are elements favoring the lemon grower. In 

 such situations the lemon blooms and fruits continuously through- 

 out the year. 



While the lemon requires a less extreme of low temperature 

 than the orange, it also thrives with a less extreme of high tempera- 

 ture and less duration of it. It apparently does not require as much 

 heat to develop acid, which is the charm of the lemon, as it does 

 sugar, which is essential to an acceptable orange ; therefore a coast 

 situation which may not yield a sweet orange may produce a good 

 lemon, although it is a fact that in the southern coast region, where 

 the largest commercial production of lemons is now achieved, the 

 orange also does well. Another advantage of the lower summer 

 temperature is that the continuous ripening is not interfered with, 

 as it is by high summer heat, which hastens maturity and brings 

 the mass of the fruit to marketable condition in the winter a sea- 

 son when the demand for the lemon is very small. This objection 

 is, however, being measurably overcome by the proper storage and 

 treatment of the fruit for sale, at a considerable interval after pick- 

 ing, as will be mentioned presently. But both the curing and stor- 



