HANDLING THE CITRUS CROP. 4H 



used in hauling fruit should be provided with good 

 springs. 



It is best that the fruit be not exposed to the sun 

 after it is removed from the trees. Neither should the 

 packed boxes of fruit be exposed to the strong rays of the 

 sun. To protect the fruit, either in hauling from the grove 

 to the packing house or from the packing house to the 

 shipping point, a duck or canvas cover should be thrown 

 over it. 



Pickers and Picking. Good, reliable pickers only, 

 should be engaged. They should be careful men, who 

 can be trusted to handle the fruit carefully. Too much 

 stress cannot be laid upon the proper manner of hand- 

 ling the fruit at this stage. When the fruit is removed 

 from the trees, the rind is charged with moisture, par- 

 ticularly early in the season, and great care must be 

 exercised in handling it. The pickers should be in- 

 structed that fruit must not be dropped, poured from one 

 receptacle to another, or bruised in any way. Slight 

 bruises cannot be seen, but they may be there neverthe- 

 less, and will eventually show up in the form of soft, 

 rotten spots. Any picker who handles fruit carelessly, and 

 who will not mend his ways should be promptly dismissed. 

 If a number of pickers are engaged they should be placed 

 in charge of a competent foreman. 



The picker's fingernails should be trimmed short, 

 particularly in picking lemons. The rind of the fruit is 

 frequently cut and punctured by long, sharp nails, and 

 fruit otherwise good and sound frequently has to be con- 

 signed to the cull heap for this reason alone. 



Pickers may be engaged by the day, week or month, 

 or the picking may be paid for by the box. In the latter 

 case, some system of checking must be employed. The 



