14S4 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OK PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



a general way that the fruit is handled 

 with a certain degree ot care, but as 

 long as no strong protest is made they 

 take it for granted that everything is 

 satisfactory. No matter how carefully 

 and exactly the fruit is packed, if the 

 packages are abused in transit the re- 

 sults must be disai)pointing. 



Storing 



A great many attempts have been made 

 to store citrus fruits. With the exception 

 ot the lemon, storage is not thoroughly 

 successful unless the fruit is put in cold 

 storage. Various methods have been 

 suggested, such as packing the fruit in 

 Florida moss, packing it in dry road sand, 

 storing it in caves, etc. The results of 

 experiments with all of these, however, 

 have been disappointing. 



In general it may be said that citrus 

 fruits may be stored in a cool, dry place 

 for two or three months without danger 

 of serious loss. The temperature should 

 not fall to the freezing point, and should 

 not go much above 40 degrees F. The air 

 should also be dry enough to prevent 

 moisture from forming on the fruit or 

 packages during fluctuations in tempera- 

 ture. 



In cold storage very fair success has 

 been obtained in keeping the fruit, and 

 when full information shall be at hand 

 it will doubtless be possible to keep cit- 

 rus fruits, at least in limited quantities, 

 until the new crop comes in. 



Marketing 



The market selected for selling the 

 fruit will vary with individual growers, 

 the price being fixed by that obtained in 

 the large markets, such as Chicago and 

 New York. The price at the groves will 

 be largely determined by the quantity of 

 fruit supplied. 



Where the fruit is sold on the trees, a 

 definite written contract should be made, 

 so that there is a full understanding as 

 to the price to be paid for it, a date 

 agreed upon at which all the fruit must 

 be removed from the grove, and provi- 

 sion made for responsibility for injury to 

 trees. The owner of the grove must ex- 

 pect to suffer more or less in the way of 

 broken trees and limbs If the fruit is 



sold on the tree. Any unusual damage 

 done to the trees, either by draft ani- 

 mals or by careless workers, should, of 

 course, be borne by the person who buys 

 the fruit and must be provided for in the 

 contract. 



A more satisfactory way of selling the 

 fruit is at a definite price per box of a 

 certain grade and size, delivered at the 

 shipping station in first-class condition. 



Usually the owners of small groves can 

 not dispose of their fruit in the grove, 

 but very frequently are able to sell it for 

 a definite price at the shipping station. 

 When the fruit is sold in this way, it is 

 but fair and prudent to have a written 

 contract giving full particulars as to 

 prices, grades, sizes and conditions. 

 While much fruit is sold in this way, the 

 great bulk of the fruit is shipped to the 

 large markets to be sold. In such a 

 case the grower should know to whom the 

 fruit is consigned, having learned before- 

 hand whether the sellers are responsible 

 or not. While the determination of the 

 financial responsibility of commission 

 merchants or fruit handlers may seem 

 difficult to the average grower, it is really 

 a very simple matter to learn whether a 

 business firm has any good references or 

 not. If the persons mentioned as refer- 

 ences are addressed and no word is heard 

 from them, it will be the safest course to 

 assume that the reply would have been 

 unfavorable. 



P. H. Rolfs, 

 ratlioloKlst, tl. S. DcDartment of AKi-lculture. 



VARIETIES 



District No. 6 



HiniiLY KEcoM MENDED ■ — Dessert and 

 Market: Bessie; Centennial; Enterprise 

 iii'cdling; Foster; Hart Late (Hart's 

 Tardiff); Homosassa; Imperial Blood; 

 .Jaffa; .Jaffa Blood; Majorca; Maltese 

 Egg; Maltese Oval; May's Best; Nonpar- 

 eil; Old Vini; Parson Brown; Pineapple; 

 Ruby; Valencia Late; Vinous, Madam. 

 Dessert and Kitchen: Phillips Bitter 

 fiweet. 



Recommended — Dessert and Market: 

 Acapulco; Acis; Amory Blood; Bahia 

 (Washington Navel); Beach No. 5; 

 Boone; Botelha; Brazilian; Buttercourt; 



