SHIPMENT OF OEANGES FEOM FLORIDA. 



11 



ice should be put in the tanks 24 hours before loading the fruit, and preferably 48 

 hours previous, in order to properly cool the cars; (2) that the boxes of oranges should 

 be stacked near to the car and when the doors were opened the loading should com- 

 mence immediately and not consume more than one hour; (3) that the doors should 

 then be tightly closed and the car moved forward immediately. Since the refriger- 

 ating rates are per car and not per box, some growers loaded the cars very heavily 

 this past season, shipping 400 or 500 boxes per car, in order to reduce the refrigerating 

 charge per box. This left no room for ventilation or circulation of air, and as a result 

 decay was heavy, especially in the top tiers. Boxes should not be loaded more than 

 2 tiers high and no car should contain more than 360 boxes. These may be loaded 

 6 rows across, 30 boxes long and 2 tiers high, on end. 



Many refrigerator cars were shipped under one-half icing during 1912-13. When 

 the fruit was very soft or from groves known to be diseased, full icing was found to be 

 necessary. Table I gives the refrigerating rates for half icing from Florida to various 

 points throughout the United States, these being in addition to the regular rates for 

 transportation. When the entire ice bunker is filled, the charges are increased 50 per 

 cent above those for half-bunker icing. For example, when the half-bunker rate to 

 New York is $50 per car, the full-bunker rate is $75. 



Table I. — Rates per car for half icing from Florida to points in the United States, season 



of 1912-13. 



To southern points. 



To eastern poiats. 



To northern and western points. 



In State of— 



Rate. 



From Jacksonville. 



Rate. 



In State of— 



Rate. 





S35. 00 

 40.00 



45.00 

 40.00 

 45. 00 

 45.00 

 62.50 

 35.00 

 35.00 



45.00 



Taking rate of— 



43 cents per box 



44 cents per box 



46 cents per box 



48 cents per box 



50 cents per box 



51 cents per box 



52 cents per box 



53 cents per box . 



55 cents per box or 



higher 



$45.00 

 45.00 

 50.00 

 45.00 

 50.00 

 55.00 

 50.00 

 55.00 



55.00 



Ohio 



S50.00 



Alabama 



Indiana 



50 00 



Tennessee (except to Chat- 



Michigan 



55.00 



Illinois 



60.00 



To Chattanooga 



Wisconsin 



55.00 



Kentucky 



Missouri 



55.00 



Mississippi. . 



Nebraska 



55.00 



Texas 



Kansas 



55.00 



South Carolina 



Colorado 



62.50 





Minnesota 



55.00 



Virginia (as to Lynch- 

 burg, Norfolk, Rich- 

 mond, Roanoke, and 

 Portsmouth) 



Iowa 



55.00 











MARKETING THE FRUIT. 



Noncooperative buyers. — Most of the Florida citrus fruits have been handled on the 

 market by fruit buyers and speculators. Large quantities have been bought on the 

 trees, either in bulk or at a fixed price per box, by local buyers who own packing 

 houses in near-by towns. There are many such buyers, and, although very few of 

 them are growers, they purchase enough fruit each year to pack and ship thousands 

 of boxes. The largest part of the Florida citrus crop has been handled in this manner 

 in recent years, the picking and hauling being done under the direction and at the 

 expense of the buyers. These men have regular customers to whom they make ship- 

 ments, and they also consign large quantities of fruit to commission houses. If a 

 grower desires to pack his own fruit, he may be able to sell it before shipping it, but 

 usually he consigns the cars to a commission man whose agent has solicited his trade. 

 If the grower is doing business with a reliable firm, the success of this method depends 

 largely upon having a good grade of fruit which is packed in an attractive manner and 

 reaches the market in sound condition . Since most of the commission houses operating 

 in Florida are located in the larger northern and eastern cities, the heavy shipments 

 of fruit to these points often cause the market to be glutted with Florida oranges. 



