crop to the grower not increasing proportionately with the increase of ship- 

 ments, although there is a variation in net returns from year to year due to 

 competitive conditions in the markets at large and to the relative size of our 

 own crop. The present orange acreage is sufficient, when all is in full bear- 

 ing, to furnish an approximate output in any one year of from 40 to 50 

 thousand carloads and this large volume of fruit can only be marketed suc- 

 cessfully and at a satisfactory price by a maintenance of the present duty 

 of one cent per pound on orange imports and by a disposition also on the 

 part of the transportation companies to give expedited service and a rate for 

 freight and ice commensurate with the increased volume of the business 

 and the necessities of the situation as they may occur. 



While there has been a very limited amount of lemons grown in Cali- 

 fornia during the entire period of orange production, the output increasing 

 greatly during the last ten years, California lemon shipments have not 

 reached the same volume as orange shipments, compared with the consump- 

 tion of each in this country, due largely to the fact that California had to 

 fight the Sicilian lemon, which was strongly entrenched in all quarters, alone 

 and unaided by Florida or any other citrus fruit producing section in the 

 United States; the handling of the lemon also being a much more difficult 

 task and not so well understood in the early days, its keeping quality, as 

 compared with that of the Sicilian, having been inferior, owing to lack 

 of proper methods on the part of lemon producers and shippers. These 

 defects in handling have been rectified during recent seasons and with the 

 import duty on lemons, together with a more favorable freight rate than 

 our oranges enjoy, the California lemon to-day has come to the front in all 

 the markets of the United States, and it is only a question of time when this 

 State will produce relatively the same proportion of lemons consumed in 

 our own country, as it now does of oranges. The volume of lemon ship- 

 ments last season approximated very closely to 5,000 cars, or a little less 

 than 50 per cent of the total quantity consumed within the United States. 



Taking the citrus fruit industry of the State as a whole, covering every 

 variety, both oranges and lemons, the tendency is to confine new settings 

 largely to that variety of which we are short, this at the present time being^ 

 lemons and Valencia Lates, so that the total number of carloads shipped may 

 largely increase without any great danger of reducing the net returns to 

 the grower correspondingly. With increased consumption, due to the 

 natural growth of the country and with this tendency on the part of those 

 engaged in producing citrus fruits to adjust their settings to the needs 

 and requirements of the country as to variety, we should be able to market 

 fifty or sixty thousand carloads of California oranges and lemons at prices 

 which would be fairly satisfactory in the net returns to the producer; pro- 

 viding only, the transportation companies recognize the necessities of the 

 situation and do their part in the way of hauling these fruits to market, giv- 

 ing the expedited service a tender and perishable product requires and a 

 rate that is both reasonable and just to the railroad and the grower alike. 



There is a large field for the manufacture of by-products of citrus 

 fruits, which has only been touched upon in a spasmodic way by small 

 concerns of limited capital, and there is no question but that a great busi- 

 ness will ultimately be built up in the manufacture of citric acid, marma- 

 lades, etc., when once capital takes hold of this problem in an intelligent 

 manner. No greater assistance could be given to the industry than to have 

 this question successfully solved, for the reason that a large quantity of 

 citrus fruits that is now thrown away could thus be utilized and also a con- 

 siderable percentage of low grade fruit that is now shipped could be manu- 

 factured to good advantage at home, relieving the markets of the country 

 to that extent, thus improving greatly the prices for better fruit. 



On the whole, while there may be times of temporary discouragement 

 to the citrus fruit grower, he will undoubtedly meet intelligently the vexa- 

 tious problems which come up from time to time, so that in the years to 

 come, the growing of citrus fruits in California will continue to be, as it is 

 now, one of the greatest industries of the State, bringing to those engaged 

 in it a large, and, in the main, satisfactory revenue. 



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