I 
COLORING SATSUMA ORANGES IN ALABAMA. Li 
of the manifolds and burners and are without the sheet-iron stove 
frame, though ordinary kerosene cookstoves with absestos wicks can 
be used. The stoves usually employed for this purpose have short 
asbestos wicks and a tubular sheet-iron chimney. In practice a piece 
of perforated metal is placed loosely over the chimney of each burner 
_ (see detail drawings in Fig. 3), thus interfering with the draft. This 
results in a lack of oxygen for complete combustion of the vaporized 
kerosene, and the pungent sootless gas is given off. This gas from 
the burner room is drawn out and forced by means of a power blower 
through a conduit of galvanized-iron pipe, 6 to 12 inches in diam- 
eter, to the coloring house, where it 1s conducted to the basement of 
each of the rooms. The oil-feed line, as shown in the plan, runs 
through the anteroom, where the constant-level float valve and the 
safety valve are located. The supply tank is located outside. The 
safety valve is operated by a weight suspended by a cotton cord ex- 
tending over all the burners. ‘The cord also supports a safety 
damper in the outlet pipe in such a position that the gas can pass 
freely from the generating room to the coloring house as long as 
the burners are burning well. In case any of the burners flame up, 
as frequently happens, ‘the cord burns and the oil supply is cut off; 
at the same time the damper drops, closes the gas outlet, and opens 
the flue, and the smoke and soot are passed out into the outside air. 
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF A COLORING PLANT. 
PICKING THE FRUIT. 
From an efficiency point of view, the management of a coloring 
house should begin in the orchard by the selection of proper fruit 
for coloring. During the first week or 10 days of the season care is 
necessary in selecting the fruit, as only that which is well advanced 
in maturity irrespective of color should bé selected. After some ex- 
perience the maturity of the fruit may be determined by the texture 
and “ feel,” in conjunction with the solids-acid test. Only the softer 
and finer textured fruits should be picked early. The coarse-tex- 
tured hard fruit should be left for later harvesting. During this 
first picking the workers need very close supervision. Ordinarily, 
if the second picking is a week or 10 days later the trees may be 
picked clean. There will usually be found a mixture of green- 
colored fruit and more or less tree-ripe or fully colored fruit all of 
which are physiologically mature and ready to pick. If only a small 
percentage of this fully colored fruit is present it can be picked with 
the rest of the oranges, but it should be placed in separate containers 
and sent direct to the packing house. However, if many of the 
oranges on the trees are fully colored it is best to have the green 
fruit and colored fruit picked by separate gangs of pickers. Care 
should be taken to separate the green from the yellow-colored 
oranges, as fruit colored on the trees or fruit that is nearly full 
colored before picking should never go into the coloring house with 
green fruit, even if the proportion is “small, because these fruits may 
become unpalatable, soft, and out of condition by the time -the 
others are colored and ready for market. A good pack can easily 
be injured by a few overripe fruits which may spoil before reach- 
