206 STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



"The sum of these suggestions is that the one who brings the 

 best grade of carefully handled fruit is the one who gets the 

 best returns at the least personal expense." 



The Advisory Board of the Lemon-Growers, who are affiliated 

 with the Southern California Fruit Exchange, through Morton 

 Haig, of San Gabriel, formulated and published, in April, 1897, 

 the following hints regarding the gathering, etc., of fruit: 



" Have pickers' nails trimmed short; few will believe how 

 much fruit goes as 'culls' from damage by long finger-nails. 



" Clip the fruit close to the stem. 



"Do not use sacks in which to gather; lemons are thereby 

 bumped and bruised with every movement of the body. Use 

 baskets lined with sacking. 



" Do not tumble fruit from the basket into boxes, but handle 

 lemons as you would eggs, from start to finish. 



" Never pick when there is moisture from fog, and wait at 

 least four to five days after rain or irrigation. 



" Place all filled boxes on the north side of the tree, and 

 shade closely from the sun. 



"Go over trees once every four or five weeks, and thus save 

 sun-burned and over-sized fruit, all of which goes as a third- 

 grade fruit, or is, more frequently, thrown out. 



" Pick in winter months to a uniform size of 2^ inches in 

 diameter, and in summer months to a uniform size of 2-J 

 inches. Metal rings for this purpose can easily be obtained or 

 made. 



" Loaded wagons should never be allowed to trot or bump 

 over plow farrows, ditches, or chuckholes. 



" If dirty fruit has to be washed, let this process be gotten 

 over quickly; by employing the greatest number possible to 

 this end, will save the fruit immensely. During all undue 

 exposures the work of deterioration is rapidly progressing. 

 Here again avoid all dumping of the fruit, and look to washers' 

 nails. 



"If fruit has to be taken to depot or central packing-house, 

 let it be done, in summer, during the cool of the morning or 

 evening. 



"The grower, in following out such suggestions, has then 

 done his level best. A responsible curer, packer, and a good 

 market will do the rest. 



