SHIPMENT OF ORANGES FROM 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. — Bates per car for half icing from Florida to points in the United States, season 
of 1912-13. 
To southern points. 
To eastern points. 
To northern and western points. 
In State of— 
Rate. 
From Jacksonville. 
Rate. 
In State of— 
Rate. 
Georgia 
$35. 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 
$45. 00 
45.00 
50.00 
45.00 
50.00 
55.00 
50.00 
55.00 
55.00 
Ohio 
$50. 00 
Indiana 
50.00 
Tennessee (except to Chat- 
tanooga) 
Michigan.. 
55.00 
Illinois 
50.00 
To Chattanooga 
Wisconsin 
55.00 
Kentucky 
Missouri 
55.00 
55 00 
55.00 
62.50 
55.00 
Virginia (as to Lynch- 
burg, Norfolk, Rich- 
mond, Roanoke, and 
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. 
