412 CITRUS FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



fruit picked by each individual may be designated by a 

 number marked on the end of the field box. 



CURING. 



Washing. If it is necessary to wash the fruit, it 

 should be done as soon as it is brought to the packing 

 house. Washing, whether by machinery or by hand, 

 should be very carefully done. Care must be taken not 

 to bruise or injure the rind of the fruit. Various ma- 

 chines are in use for washing and brushing the fruit so 

 as to make it bright and clean. Among these may be 

 mentioned the Warner washer, manufactured by S. C. 

 Warner, Palatka, Fla., and the Tangent Fruit Washer, 

 manufactured by Wright Bros., Riverside, Gal. The 

 ideal washer should do the work thoroughly without in- 

 jury to the rind of the fruit. While it is a fact that the 

 appearance of fruit which shows the presence of sooty 

 mold, fly-speck fungus or scales, can be very materially 

 improved by washing, still the process must not be so 

 severe as to injure the shipping quality of the fruit. 



If small lots of fruit are to be washed, it may be 

 done by hand, using a medium stiff brush or the membrane 

 of the dish-rag gourd. To polish fruit so as to give it 

 a bright, glossy appearance nothing is better than a hand- 

 ful of natural sheep's wool or a piece of soft flannel rag. 



Effects and Need of Curing. When citrus fruits are 

 freshly removed from the trees, the cells of the rind are 

 filled with moisture to their fullest extent. . In this con- 

 dition, the rind is brittle and easily cracked or broken 

 in handling. This is more particularly true of the fruit 

 in the first part of the season than it is along in March 

 and April. 



