CITRUS FRUIT INSECTS IN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES. 29 



city of Valencia itself in the "Heurte de Valencia" there are few 

 oranges grown, excepting at Piaporto and Picafia and to the west- 

 ward of these villages. 



Going farther southward the next important orange section is at 

 Murcia, and then at Malaga, with a few scattering groves between. 

 In the Malaga section probably the most important center is at 

 Alora, some distance back from the sea, and in a mountainous 

 country. The next important section of Andalusian Spain is in the 

 vicinity of Seville. Here, however., practically all of the crop is of 

 the bitter variety and is shipped to Great Britain and made into 

 marmalade. 



METHODS OF HANDLING CROP. 



The harvesting season in Spain extends from October to July, with 

 the heaviest shipments occurring from November 15 to December 1. 

 The oranges are picked in small baskets and from these are dumped 

 into larger baskets along the roadside or edge of the grove, thence 

 being carried, by means of carts, to the packing house. They are 

 here spread on the floor to a depth of about 2 feet, the floor and sides 

 for a couple of feet being first covered with a layer of rice straw. 

 Women sit around the edge of these piles of fruit which, if infested 

 with sooty-mold fungus, is rubbed first in wet and then in dry saw- 

 dust to remove the mold. Other women then sort out the fruit in 

 three different sizes, entirely by sight, and also discard the culls. 

 The fruit is then wrapped in paper by other women and packed in 

 the boxes. 



The three sizes of fruit are represented by the cases containing 

 respectively 420, 714, and 1,064, and which weigh 165 pounds each, 

 or about twice that of the American box. There is absolutely no 

 machinery in a Spanish packing house, all the processes of handling, 

 grading, washing, and box making being done by hand. The packing 

 house itself is, therefore, simple, consisting of four walls and a roof, 

 the earth forming the floor. (PL VII, fig. 1.) The appurtenances 

 consist of the shipping cases, a good supply of shallow wicker baskets, 

 and plenty of women to do the work. The time the fruit remains 

 in the packing house depends largely on the departure of the steamer 

 and varies from a day or two to more than a week. 



After the fruit is packed in cases it is hauled, in carts, without 

 springs, to the boat landing. Here the cases are unloaded along 

 the shore and later placed in small boats and finally transferred to 

 the steamer. At Burriana, the port of the " Plana" district, from 

 which 2,000,000 cases are shipped annually, there is no pier, and the 

 small boats are pulled up on the gravelly beach by oxen. (PI. VIII, 

 fig. 2.) The town, which is about 2 miles inland, and in which 

 there are upwards of 100 packing houses, is not connected with the 



