15^ 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



Unripe 

 oranges to 

 be gathered 

 for export. 



Oranges to 

 be packed 

 dry. 



Packages. 



Boxes. 



Wrapping 

 the oranges. 



Number of 

 oranges in 

 the box. 



Packing for the Markets.— It has been shown that 

 extreme care should be taken in gathering the fruit, and the 

 same care is necessary in packing. The oranges intended 

 for export must be gathered before they are ripe, but they 

 ought to be fully formed. It is not necessary that they 

 should be yellow, for they will ripen after they are gathered, 

 and in the ripening process the green skin turns yellow. A 

 dry day should be selected on which to gather the fruit ; as, 

 before packing, all the moisture about the skin must be 

 evaporated. The best plan is to set the oranges on shelves 

 for a day or so, in the packing shed, and, when they are dry, 

 any bruise or defect is easily seen. 



Oranges are shipped from the West Indies in empty flour 

 barrels, and in boxes. The barrels usually have holes cut in 

 the staves for the purpose of ventilation, and each barrel will 

 contain about 300 oranges. But a much safer plan is to 

 ship in boxes, the usual size being 2 feet and a half long by 

 one foot in depth and one foot in width. The ends of the 

 boxes are solid, but the top, bottom and sides are boarded up 

 with laths 3 inches wide, a space of about 2 inches being 

 left between the laths. The box is divided into two equal 

 compartments by a solid piece of wood, similar to the pieces 

 used for the ends. The boxes are usually put together by 

 the shipper, the various pieces being imported from the 

 United States already cut up to the various sizes, and thus 

 with a few wire nails, an industrious person can fix up a 

 number of boxes in a very short time. 



Each orange must be wrapped in paper, care being taken 

 to reject all inferior or damaged fruit. The paper used is 

 the common yellow wrapping sort, imported from the 

 United States, and it should be cut into sizes sufficiently 

 large to wrap up the oranges smoothly and evenly. Each 

 of the boxes will contain about 150 wrapped oranges of the 

 larger kinds, but 180 of the smaller fruits can usually be 

 stowed away in the same space. The packing should be so 

 close that the oranges will not shake about, indeed in nailing 



