2 BULLETIN 1435, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
In the youth of the industry it was necessary to transport the fruit 
long distances with ox teams over well-nigh. impassable roads to 
ports where the fruit started on a long slow journey in the poorly 
ventilated holds of ships to consuming centers which seldom were 
other than sea-coast towns. 
Coupled with the problems of transportation were several severe 
setbacks as the result of freezes, to avoid which there has been con- 
siderable shifting of the industry to the south, to areas receiving a 
degree of protection because of the proximity of large bodies of 
water, and to areas which, because of physiographical features of 
the terrain, offer good air drainage. A large measure of protection 
from freezes has also been obtained in late years through practical 
development of grove-heating apparatus. Although in the present 
locations there is still some frost hazard in connection with the 
production of citrus fruit, its risk has been greatly reduced. 
Good wagon roads and a network of railroads with refrigeration 
facilities throughout the State have given a great impetus to the 
citrus industry. Some of these tap the now very important Polk 
County section which heretofore had been left undeveloped. 
In conjunction with these improvements two other very important 
things happened: One of these was the development of a commercial 
fertilizer which is so necessary in this sandy region, and the other 
was the immigration of progressive people who were quick to see 
new and better ways of doing things—people capable of coordi- 
nating all the factors essential to a successful business. The natural 
environment of the greater part of Polk County is unsuited to crops 
other than citrus fruit and this fact has had much to do with the 
harmony and rapidity of the development—there have been no 
cross purposes, the one objective being the improvement of an 
industry which is the common interest of all. 
A study of the organization and cost of operating 100 citrus-fruit 
farms in Polk County, Fla., forms the basis of this bulletin. The 
investigation was carried on for six successive years, 1917 to 1922, 
inclusive. This period included the late war period, when prices 
were relatively high, and, as a whole, citrus-fruit farming in this 
area was very profitable. The profitableness of the industry during 
this period resulted in a decided increase in plantings of trees, and 
real estate values were on a relatively high level. Since the close 
of the study the price of fruit has been appreciably less than during 
the period of the study, and in applying the results to present con- 
ditions these changes need to be recognized. 
THE CITRUS-FRUIT SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES 
Few agricultural enterprises have gone through the development 
stage so quickly as has the citrus industry. In a period of 35 years 
the production has increased from less than 5,000,000 to about 
50,000,000 boxes. A large part of this increase was in oranges, 
although grapefruit and lemons shared in the phenomenal growth 
of the citrus-fruit industry. (Tables 1 and 2.) California and 
Florida have always been the leading States. For the season be- 
ginning in 1923, they produced all but about 782,000 boxes of the 
