2 BULLETIN 859, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the industry in Florida is very largely concentrated in Dade and 
Broward Counties, at the southern tip of the State. 
Table I. — Production of early tomatoes in the 'principal producing States of the United 
States, showing also car-lot shipments, for the 5-year period from 1915 to 1919, in- 
clusive. 
State. 
Crop production (tons). 
Car-lot shipments. a 
1919 1918 1917 
1916 
1915 
1919 
1918 
1917 
1916 
1915 
California 
17, 380 
58,520 
11,880 17,390 
46,800 , 77,480 
600 | 1,810 
21,150 : 15,680 
10,500 ; 13,020 
16,000 : 16,430 
69,108 75,540 
20, 170 
18. 750 
139 
4,478 
2 
61,388 
366 
1,198 
1,513 
3,695 
10 
61,379 
654 
1,123 
97 
518 
4,493 
14 
61,063 
947 
1,276 
173 
1,169 
6,184 
58 
61, 663 
590 
1,153 
192 
871 
Florida 
101,170 1 91,390 
2,209 2,524 
25, 250 20. 100 
4,692 
58 
18, 400 
6,000 
17, 700 
61,690 
29,320 
10,770 
85, 285 
24,010 
11,260 
62,212 
529 
1,318 
121 
Total 
118,000 
176,038 ;217,350 
274, 174 
230,246 
7,571 
8,471 
8,484 
11,009 
9,279 
a Estimated at 13 tons per car except in Mississippi, where the average is 10| tons per car. 
6 Carloads of 10J tons. 
In spite of the fact that thousands of cars of Florida tomatoes 
are shipped to the North each year, the quality of a large percentage 
that reaches the consumer is admittedly inferior in many respects 
to vine-ripened or greenhouse tomatoes. Tracy (52) x makes the 
following statements in regard to the inferiority of shipped fruit: 
The tomato never acquires its full and most perfect flavor except when ripened on 
the vine and in full sunlight. Vine and sun ripened tomatoes, like tree-ripened 
peaches, are vastly better flavored than those artificially ripened. This is the chief 
reason why tomatoes grown in hothouses in the vicinity are so much superior to 
those shipped in from farther south. 
It is the custom to pick the fruit when grass green and allow it 
to ripen and color in ripening rooms before shipment, while in 
transit, and after arrival at the market. Numerous complaints 
have been made by commission men and others that a large pro- 
portion of the tomato crop from the east coast of Florida is picked 
and shipped too green. When this is done, the fruit ripens very 
slowly, has a tendency to wrinkle, colors abnormally, and has a bad 
taste and flavor. Moreover, for quite different reasons, the growers 
prefer, when shipping their tomatoes, to have the fruit arrive in a 
slightly colored condition. The arrival of green fruit at the terminal 
often has the effect of glutting the market. The buyer is compelled 
to hold the fruit while ripening and consequently assumes a risk 
of losing a portion, whereas if the shipment is colored when it 
arrives he is able to dispose of it immediately. 
Since the difficulties just enumerated bear a close relationship 
to field practice and to packing and shipping operations, the writer 
was stationed at Miami during the growing seasons from 1917 to 
1919 in order to gain first-hand knowledge of the industry and to 
1 The serial numbers in parentheses refer to "Literature cited" at the end of this bulletin. 
