36 
Citrus and Tropical Fruit Culture 
A busy scene in the San Dimas orange packing house. 
HANDLING THE CROP 
IN the earlier days of California citrus culture 
it was not uncommon to find a small packing 
plant at most every orchard of any size, but 
such is not the case now. Only the larger 
growers, having sufficient acreage to warrant a good 
sized house, have their individual plants. With the 
numerous packing houses in almost every locality 
operated either by private packers or local association 
of growers, it is no longer necessary for the grower 
of 5, 10, or 20 acres of fruit to have a private plant, 
in fact these packing concerns have picking crews, 
working under the supervision of competent foremen, 
that come to the orchard and pick the fruit and if 
necessary, convey it to the packing house. The par- 
ticular advantage of this is that these picking crews 
are experienced men, knowing how to properly pick 
and handle the fruit so that it will reach the packing 
house in the best possible condition. 
Upon the proper handling of the fruit largely de- 
pends its carrying quality, and careless picking and 
handling often causes heavy losses in decayed fruit 
before it reaches the market. A slight cut with the 
orange clippers, scratch with the finger nails or bruise 
from dropping the fruit in the boxes will start decay 
and one such fruit placed in a box often times causes 
the loss of the entire box of fruit. It therefore be- 
hooves the grower, whether he picks his own fruit or 
hires it done, to use every care in seeing that it is 
properly handled from the trees to the packing house. 
The picking should be done with the latest improved 
clippers. These clippers are so constructed that they 
will not bruise the fruit. The stems should be cut 
as closely as possible so as not to leave a long stem on 
the fruit to bruise other fruit in the box. Never 
allow either oranges or lemons to be pulled from the 
tree as it invariably spoils them for shipping and they 
will be thrown out as culls. Use a regular picking 
sack made of canvas with the bottom so arranged that 
it can be opened and the fruit let out in that way 
rather than being poured out from the top. This 
allows the picker to empty his sack into the boxes 
without bruising the fruit. The field boxes are 
usually supplied by the packing house handling the 
crop. Never fill them more than level full so that in 
stacking, the boxes will not smash or bruise the top 
fruit. In hauling to the packing house use a wagon 
or conveyance with good springs. Many houses will 
not accept fruit hauled on a wagon without springs. 
With the more general use of the auto truck for this 
work, horse drawn vehicles are being displaced and 
for hauling any distance they are not only much 
faster but much easier on the fruit. 
The modern packing house equipment is so de- 
signed that all unnecessary handling is eliminated and 
from the time the fruit is received at the door until it 
