102 



Piment o should be picked in the green state, which was really the unripe 

 state. 



Turning to fruits, Mr. DeMercado said his remarks would apply 

 equally whether the articles were intended for export or for the 

 local markets. If produce such as pimento and coffee, which would 

 stand all sorts of hard usage, had nevertheless to be treated most 

 carefully, how much more so must perishable fruits, for only then 

 could it possibly be profitable to export. The care taken must 

 commence, in the case of oranges and other citrus fruits, with the 

 picking from the tree. That should te done with a sharp knife or 

 fair of scissors, and part of the stalk should be preserved adhering to 

 the orange. One imperfect orange in a barrel would contaminate the 

 whole barrel — nay mere, given time it would contaminate every fruit 

 in a large room full of oranges. In picking, each orange should be 

 tenderly handled, placed gently in a basket or other receptacle, and 

 carried to the house or shed where it was to be packed. Oranges 

 should never be packed immediately after picking. They should be 

 spread out ,as openly as possible in an airy roeni and allowed to dry, 

 say for twenty-four hours or longer. During this time they should 

 be gone over and every orange examined, and any showing the least 

 sign of deterioration thrown away — not into a barrel in the same 

 room, or close by, but as far away as possible. The reason for curing 

 oranges, so to speak, was that very often defects could not be seen 

 when they were taken from ti e tree, but developed plainly in a few 

 hours. Then came the question of packing. This was the crucial 

 point. A man should not think that because he managed to sell a 

 lot of bad oranges once he had done a good thing. His mark would 

 be known, and dealers would fight shy of his exports in future. Fur- 

 thermore, he would help to give the Island produce a bad name, and 

 damage his neighbours. Such a man was an enemy to the commu- 

 nity. It was not w 7 ith oranges as with pimento that we had the mar- 

 ket to ourselves. If Jamaica oranges got a bad name, there were 

 plenty of competitors to profit by our loss of reputation, and the man 

 who packed poor fruit was helping to ruin not only himself, but every 

 other orange grower in the Island. The good suffered for the bad. It 

 often happened that a man did not pack his own fruit. In that case 

 he should, take the utmost care in conveying it to the local market at 

 which he sold. There was no reason why oranges intended for local 

 consumption should not be picked with the leaves and stalk on. It 

 would make them look much more attractive, they would keep better, 

 and they would sell better. 



"Wii h regaid to bananas, he could not say much. The export of that 

 product was only carried on by large concerns, but he urged his hear- 

 ers to impress upon small settlers the need of carrying their bunches 

 of bananas to the wharf as carefully as if they were babies. Here 

 again, Jamaica had plenty of competitors, but if we got a good repu- 

 tation for our bananas other places would find it all the harder to take 

 away the markets which had been ours so long. If on the other hand 

 we delivered bananas in a worse condition then those from Port Limon 

 and other places we should naturally suffer. 



The teachers could do much to impress these truths upon the people 

 and thereby increase the wealth of the country and improve social con- 



