CITRUS FEUIT INSECTS IN" MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES. 29 
city of Valencia itself in the "Heurte de Valencia''' there are few 
oranges grown, excepting at Piaporto and Picana and to the west- 
ward of these villages. 
Going farther southward the next important orange section is at 
Murcia, and then at Malaga, with a few scattering groves between. 
In the Malaga section probably the most important center is ab 
Alora, some distance back from the sea, and in a mountainous 
country. The next important section of Andalusian Spain is in the 
vicinity of Seville. Here, however,, practically all of the crop is of 
the bitter variety and is shipped to Great Britain and made into 
marmalade. 
METHODS OF HANDLING CROP. 
The harvesting season in Spain extends from October to July, with 
the heaviest shipments occurring from November 15 to December 1. 
The oranges are picked in small baskets and from these are dumped 
into larger baskets along the roadside or edge of the grove, thence 
being carried, by means of carts, to the packing house. They are 
here spread on the floor to a depth of about 2 feet, the floor and sides 
for a couple of feet being first covered with a layer of rice straw. 
Women sit around the edge of these piles of fruit which, if infested 
with sooty-mold fungus, is rubbed first in wet and then in dry saw- 
dust to remove the mold. Other women then sort out the fruit in 
three different sizes, entirely by sight, and also discard the culls. 
The fruit is then wrapped in paper by other women and packed in 
the boxes. 
The three sizes of fruit are represented by the cases containing 
respectively 420, 714, and 1,064, and which weigh 165 pounds each, 
or about twice that of the American box. There is absolutely no 
machinery in a Spanish packing house, all the processes of handling, 
grading, washing, and box making being done by hand. The packing 
house itself is, therefore, simple, consisting of four walls and a roof, 
the earth forming the floor. (PI. VII, fig. 1.) The appurtenances 
consist of the shipping cases, a good supply of shallow wicker baskets, 
and plenty of women to do the work. The time the fruit remains 
in the packing house depends largely on the departure of the steamer 
and varies from a day or two to more than a week. 
After the fruit is packed in cases it is hauled, in carts, without 
springs, to the boat landing. Here the cases are unloaded along 
the shore and later placed in small boats and finally transferred to 
the steamer. At Burriana, the port of the " Plana" district, from 
which 2,000,000 cases are shipped annually, there is no pier, and the 
small boats are pulled up on the gravelly beach by oxen. (PI. VIII, 
fig. 2.) The town, which is about 2 miles inland, and in which 
there are upwards of 100 packing houses, is not connected with the 
