HANDLING THE CITRUS CROP. 417 



matures so late that it cannot be placed on the market for 

 a number of months after it is picked. 



The objects to be held in view in curing the lemon are: \ 

 to reduce the thickness of the rind, make it smooth, tough 

 and leathery; to increase its juiciness proportionately; / 

 and hold it in perfect shape until the market season./ 

 Many methods for securing these desirable and necessary 

 conditions have been brought forward, but it is, perhaps, 

 not too much to say that an entirely satisfactory method 

 has not yet been advanced. Something still remains to 

 be desired, and in the interests of the industry a thor- 

 ough investigation should be made. 



""what appears to be one of the most satisfactory 

 methods of curing lemons and one from which very sat- 

 isfactory results have been secured, is that used by the 

 Limoneira Company, of Santa Paula, Cal. Mr. C. C. 

 Teague, the manager, thus describes it in the California 

 Fruit Grower, July 11, 1903, and comments as well upon 

 the practicability of shipping lemons east to be held in 

 cold storage: 



"The past year marked one of the greatest, if not 

 the greatest, strides that has been taken in the lemon 

 business since the shipping of lemons from California 

 has assumed anything like commercial proportions ; a 

 stride that has been a complete revolution of old methods 

 and one that is destined to have a far-reaching effect upon 

 the future of the business. I refer to the open air method 

 as it has been termed, of holding and curing lemons. 



Unfortunately, about 75 per cent of our lemons 

 are gathered in the winter and spring months, and 

 up to last year the experience of our growers and ship- 

 pers who had attempted to hold their fruit until the 

 summer months, had been so disastrous, on account of the 



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