216 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-THIRD FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



MR. KING. In my limited experience in the citrus fruit country 

 and so far as my observation goes, after reading very much about the 

 conserving of the fruit after it is grown, I have seen a great deal of 

 discussion as to the methods in the packing-house and about the 

 handling in the orchard. It seems to me that one of the most fruitful 

 sources of injury to your fruit is the picking shears used in all the 

 orchards — certainly in northern and central California. The only 

 shears that I have seen have two very sharp points. They are so sharp 

 that they will injure the picker if he is not careful. I think ninety 

 per cent of all the oranges clipped from the tree,s are not in sight of the 

 picker. I do not think that he attempts to look at it as he puts his 

 shears on the stem to cut it off. I believe it would be a wise thing for 

 this Convention to discuss and suggest to manufacturers that a better 

 shears than are now provided can be had, and I do not think you would 

 have to go a very long way to get an improvement and thereby save 

 a very large percentage of the injuries which you have in your picking. 



DR. SHERMAN. Mr. President, I would say that this seems a little 

 new and strange to me, if they have not orange shears up here. All 

 through southern and central California they are to be found, and 

 they are a little shears with a round end. They are about six inches 

 long and they are kept in all the hardware stores in central California. 



THE CHAIRMAN. I will say to Mr. King that in the south he can 

 find half a dozen or perhaps more different varieties of shears for pre- 

 venting injury to the orange. I have three in my old desk in Los 

 Angeles. Three different patents were presented to me to show the 

 farmers, and there are at least six different patents. I would like to 

 ask if any one can answer Mrs. Gage's question. 



MR. MILLS. I will answer it in a measure, but I wanted to ask a 

 question first. Do I understand that you do not use clippers in pick- 

 ing your oranges in northern California? 



MR. KING. Yes, we do. They cut them off, but the shears are so 

 sharp at the point that they puncture the oranges. 



MRS. RANSOM. We have some improved shears. 



MR. MILLS. You have as beautiful oranges up here as are grown 

 any place and there is big money in them. The box question is a very 

 serious one. It confronts all of the growers in the south, confronts 

 them now, because of the syndicate doubling the price of boxes in a 

 year or so. The association that most of us belong to down there had 

 contracts with the syndicate ahead of time and we were able to get our 

 boxes for 10 cents each less than the independent growers last year. 

 This year these cooperators have resolved to set aside a certain sum 

 of money taken from each box of fruit, to be put into a fund to pur- 

 chase for themselves the forest trees and to cut them and put up mills 

 and manufacture their own lumber, if those who own and control our 

 great forests continue to raise the price on us. 



