68 



ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



A Citron of Commerce loaded with fruit. Note how crinkled the foliage is and the rough skin of the fruit. 



are carried to the press, where the tops are nailed on; 

 they are then ready to be loaded into the cars. 



A standard carload of oranges consists of 384 packed 

 boxes of the following sizes : not more than 38 boxes of 

 96s or 112s, 76 boxes of 126s and 38 boxes of 216s or 

 250s. The remainder of the car to be made up of 150s, 

 176s, and 200s. All larger or smaller sizes, and any in 

 excess of the above numbers of 96s, 112s, 126s, 216s, 

 and 250s, are considered off sizes and are discounted from 

 25 to 50 cents per box according to the market; 150s, 

 176s and 200s are standard and a car may be made up 

 entirely of these sizes without discount, although most 

 markets demand a certain amount of large and small 

 fruit and packers usually try to load in accordance with 

 the demand of the market to which they are shipping, 

 as the buyer will always pay more for a car that suits 

 his trade than for one in which there are undesirable 

 siees. 



GROWING, CURING, PACKING THE LEMON 



Fruit should be picked as soon as it has attained its 

 size and just before turning. For home use each fruit 

 should be wrapped and placed in a box in a cool place. 

 After a few months the lemon will have become quite 

 yellow in color with thin skin and will be full of juice. 

 Lemons allowed to ripen on the tree are thick skinned, 

 deficient in juice, develop extreme bitterness and are in 



every way inferior. For commercial purposes lemons 

 are cured, before shipping, in specially designed houses. 



In localities where the conditions are congenial for 

 its perfect development, flowers, immature and mature 

 fruit ready to pick will be found on the same tree. A 

 few trees are always a desirable addition to the wants of 

 every home, and by taking precaution to plant in a 

 protected spot, a good supply of fruit is always 

 available. 



In picking lemons rings are used by the pickers to 

 prevent the picking of undersized fruit. For winter 

 picking 2 TS inch rings are used and for spring and 

 summer picking 2j/ inch rings. 



To obtain best results, both as to size and keeping 

 quality, the orchard should be picked over every four 

 or six weeks. Right here is where the grower cannot be 

 too careful, as a large part of the success or failure o/ 

 the lemon business is due to the methods of picking and 

 handling of the fruit It should be borne in mind that 

 every little bruise or bump affects the keeping quality 

 of the fruit. When lemons are to be kept from three 

 to six months before going on to the market, they should 

 be handled as carefully as eggs. 



Properly cured lemons may be kept for months, and 

 they will improve in market qualities by a thinning and 

 toughening of the skin and by an increase of juice 

 content. 



