SPRAYING TO CONTROL ENEMIES OF CITRUS TREES. _ ig 
the labor. No grower should expect to spray a bearing tree for less 
than 3 cents for each application. It would be better to place the 
minimum at 4 cents. It should not require more than 10 cents to 
spray the largest trees in the State if any considerable number are 
present in one grove. An average cost per tree should not exceed 5 
to 6 cents. If one figures the cost per box, a minimum would be 1 
- cent per application for 011 spray and somewhat less for lime-sulphur. 
_ A maximum would be 14 cents for either insecticide. An expenditure 
- of more than 6 cents per box for the entire year should be unnecessary. 
PROFITS AND BENEFITS. 
It is impossible to express accurately the percentage of profit to be 
expected from spraying to control pests on citrus. The same condi- 
tion applies to cultural and other grove operations in Florida. The 
data at hand are sufficiently accurate, however, to be worth pre- 
senting. 
It has been shown that the better grades bring more money than 
the lower, yet it would be fallacious to assume that if the entire crop 
were of a high grade the grower would receive correspondingly 
higher prices. The trade will consume only so much high-grade fruit. 
It is reasonably certain, however, that the Florida crop has not yet 
reached the high standard where it would be no longer profitable to 
produce more high-grade fruit. 
_ At present 13 per cent first, 41 per cent second, and 46 per cent 
third grade oranges are shipped from the State, and it is possible 
_and practicable to raise this standard to 85, 50, and 15 per cent for 
first, second, and third grades, respectively. It is assumed that the 
trade would handle fruit of this quality. Thus, the first grade is 
"increased 22 per cent and the second 9 per cent. If 7,600,000 boxes 
‘are taken as the basis for the crop of 1915-16, there would be 
1,273,987 boxes more in the first grade if spraying were done. These 
would sell, according to Table 7 (oranges) for 21.6 cents! more per 
box, or an increase of $275,181. There would also be 9 per cent more 
second grade, or 521,177 boxes. These would sell for 9.6 cents more, 
or an increase of $50,033. 
' The percentage of the various grades of grapefruit was not very 
different from that of the oranges, so 18, 41, and 46 per cent may be 
used to represent the first, second, and third grades of grapefruit, 
respectively. The femdacd for porate also can be raised to grade 
#35, 50, and 15 per cent. There would then be 22 per cent, or 399,685 
; Pies. which would sell for 30.9 cents per box more, an increase 
_ of $123,559. There would be 9 per cent, or 163,508 boxes, which would 
rei f. Te ee To ae ae ee 
eS 
1 New York City prices. Other prices could not be obtained, 
