2 BULLETIN 1367, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
for the coloring of lemons and oranges, and this simplified process is 
being used to a considerable extent in California. 
Although very commonly employed in California, the method of © 
making green-colored but physiologically mature citrus fruits more 
attractive and salable was not used to any extent in either Florida | 
or Alabama prior to 1919, when experimental work on the coloring 
of Satsuma oranges was begun in the latter State. In a recent pub- | 
lication on the results of three years’ work in Alabama, Wright? | 
emphasizes the fact that Satsuma oranges in that State frequently 
reach a stage of physiological maturity at which they are palatable 
and attractive as an article of diet long before they assume a golden- | 
yellow color on the tree. He also brings out the facts that the | 
Satsuma orange crop in Alabama is in danger of frost after Novem- | 
ber 15 and that the best market for these oranges is in the early part 
of the season, before they color on the tree. He showed that the | 
method of coloring by the use of kerosene-stove gas was adapted 
with certain modifications for the coloring of these oranges and then 
determined the effect of this treatment on the marketability of the 
fruit. Facilities for coloring the fruit have been provided in most | 
of the packing houses, and a considerable portion of the crop was | 
colored in the seasons of 1921 and 1922. 
In view of the conditions existing in the citrus industry in Florida | 
and at the request of some of the most progressive and farsighted 
citrus growers of the State, experimental work was begun in 1920 to 
adapt to Florida conditions the process of coloring citrus fruit in | 
use in California and Alabama. 
The conditions in this State are somewhat similar to those in 
Alabama. There is a considerable acreage of Parson Brown and | 
other early oranges in Florida, which under normal conditions | 
ripen in the early fall while the weather is warm and usually reach 
their best dessert quality before taking on a yellow color on the | 
tree. This is also true of some varieties of grapefruit, such as Davis, | 
grown in certain parts of the State. Dancy tangerines and Valencia | 
oranges in Florida frequently develop a high dessert quality with- | 
out assuming a yellow color, and much of this fruit would never | 
have the rich golden yellow color on the tree, although in good con- 
dition for eating, as it has a tendency to dry out if left unpicked | 
too long. 
From a careful survey of the field, apparently there was no basis 
for the conclusions that the color of citrus fruit is an indication 
of its dessert quality or attractiveness as an article of diet and 
that the color of the skin of the fruit when it has reached this 
stage in its development is partly a varietal characteristic and 
partly dependent upon the climatic and cultural conditions under 
which the fruit is grown. It is obvious, then, that treating fruit 
which is physiologically mature or has reached a stage in its 
development at which it has high dessert quality, so that it assumes 
a color or appearance pleasing to the eye and has a higher decora- 
tive value, is a legitimate practice in marketing and one which 
should be encouraged. It is, of course, also true that the coloring 
SR. C. Wright. Coloring Satsuma oranges in Alabama. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bul. 1159, 
23 pp., illus. 1923. 
