40 
Citrus and Tropical Fruit Culture 
ping it in tissue wrapping paper, cut for the different 
sizes, it is packed in the boxes for shipment. All 
fruit is packed by a regular standard, and each 
size has a certain definite way in which the fruit 
must be placed in the box. The standard orange 
box is divided into two compartments, each being 
liy 2 x\\ l /2xll l /2 inches, inside measurement and the 
standard grades are 64s, 80s, 100s, 126s, 150s, 176s, 
200s, 216s, 250s, and 324s. In grading the fruit it 
is always run just a little large so that when packed, 
it will fit tightly in the boxes and when the last 
layer is placed, it should be about two inches above 
the top of the box. This allows for any shrinkage 
that may occur in transit and prevents the possibility 
of the fruit becoming loose and shaking around in 
the box. As the packers complete the packing opera- 
tion, the boxes are placed on another conveyer which 
carries them to the press where the lids and center 
strips are nailed on and the fruit is ready to be loaded 
in the cars. 
For local shipments ordinary box cars are used, 
but for Northern and Eastern markets the regular 
ventilated refrigerator cars are the only ones that 
it is safe to ship in. For winter shipments these 
cars are usually closed tight or ventilated, according 
to weather conditions in the section through which 
they are passing, but all summer shipments are sent 
out under ice to prevent decay. Formerly the stand- 
ard car of oranges contained 362 to 384 packed 
boxes, but the shortage of refrigerator cars has made 
it necessary to load heavier and under government 
control the railway officials insisted on what is known 
as a solid load whch required 462 boxes, and with 
the return to pre-war conditions the railroads are 
still insisting on the heavier loads. During the pres- 
ent season the California Fruit Growers' Exchange 
has been experimenting with water transportaton 
with very satisfactory results, which would indicate 
that a large part of the citrus fruit for eastern and 
middle west consumption will in the future be shipped 
by water as the fruit not only carries with very little 
decay, but at a considerable saving in freight charges. 
The process of handling lemons is somewhat dif- 
ferent from that of handling oranges. In picking 
lemons they are taken according to size rather than 
degree of ripeness and it is customary for the pickers 
to use a ring of the proper size to prevent picking 
under size fruit. For winter picking 2 5-16 inch 
rings are used and for spring and summer picking 
21-2 inch rings. 
Lemons are picked every month or six weeks 
throughout the year. Those picked during the win- 
ter months are put in storage and held for the spring 
and summer trade, while those picked later are only 
held in the curing rooms long enough to allow them 
to properly color and become somewhat pliable so 
as to facilitate packing. 
Up to the present time no grader has been manu- 
factured that will successfully grade lemons and 
therefore this work must all be done by hand. The 
grades as to quality are the same as with oranges 
but the pack is entirely different, the standard lemon 
box being 10^ x 14 x 27 inches outside measure- 
ments, divided into two compartments, and the 
packs are 210s, 240s, 270s, 300s, 360s, 420s, and 
490s. These figures represent the number of lem- 
ons of the different sizes there are in a box. 
Pomelos are also graded by hand but are packed 
in the standard orange box, the sizes being 36s, 48s, 
64s, 80s and 96s. 
The 36's, 48's and 64's are the sizes most in de- 
mand, and as pomelos are very prolific it is some- 
time adviable to thin the fruit when it is small in 
order to give that remaining a chance to attain 
marketable size. 
