140 ORANGE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. 



drying process will require not more than five 

 days. Always select a dry day on which to gather 

 the fruit. When the orange is thoroughly ripe 

 during and after January its hold on the stem is 

 not so tenacious ; it can then be plucked more ex- 

 peditiously without the aid of the knife, a skilful 

 hand with a practical double jerk being able to 

 break the stem in the eye with no danger of tearing 

 the skin. 



The boxes for packing should be of light mate- 

 rial, neatly made, tolerably close, and hooped. Di- 

 mensions 8 x 16x27, with partition in the middle. 

 In making these, one side should be left open. In 

 packing, the open side should be turned up, and 

 the box lined with sheets of paper laid on the bot- 

 tom and resting against the side. Each orange 

 should be wrapped separately in tissue-paper con- 

 taining as little oil as possible, so that it will readily 

 absorb and throw off moisture. The wrapper 

 should be careful to reject every bruised or other- 

 wise injured orange. The packer should be care- 

 ful not to put different varieties in the same box. 

 The buyer should know when he has tasted any or- 

 ange from a box or brand that all others of the same 

 brand or box are its equal. In packing, the or- 

 anges should be placed closely together in layers, so 

 that there can be no rolling or sliding of the fruit 

 in the box. The last layer should project three 

 fourths of an inch above the sides of the box, so 

 that the top when nailed on should hold the layers 



