FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
39 
pounds or 82.8c per box to all markets of 
the country east of Colorado with the ex¬ 
ception of a few markets in the southeast¬ 
ern territory. The rate on a box of 
oranges from California producing points 
to Chicago is 82.9c per box. The freight 
charge is the same to Pittsburgh, Phila¬ 
delphia, New York, Boston and all inter¬ 
mediate markets. According to the 
writer’s understanding the division of this 
freight rate of $1.15 per hundred or‘82.8c 
per box on business moving east of Chi¬ 
cago is on a basis of 75 per cent to the 
road or roads bringing it to Chicago and 
25 per cent to the roads delivering it to 
markets in the eastern territory. The 
mileage via Santa Fe from Los Angela 
. to Chicago is 2,242 miles, and for tijSs 
haul, on business moving east of Chicago, 
the railroads earn 62.1c per box. The 
distance from Chicago to New York is 
973 miles, and to Boston is 1,032 miles, 
for which the railroads earn 20.7c per 
box. We do not know of any such low 
freight rates either per hundred or per 
box applying on Florida grapefruit. 
We cannot reasonably expect the rail¬ 
roads to handle Florida grapefruit from 
the east into the west on any more favora¬ 
ble terms than California oranges and 
grapefruit are handled from the west into 
the east. The writer can see no reason 
why the transportation companies can¬ 
not move Florida grapefruit in carload 
lots to points along the Mississippi River 
on basis of rates similar to those now in 
effect, and in event Florida grapefruit and 
other products are moved into the ter¬ 
ritory beyond the Mississippi River have 
it transported on a blanket rate applying 
from point of production. 
It is stated on good authority that there 
are thirty-six thousand (36,000) acres in 
Florida planted to grapefruit, with trees 
from one (1) to five (5) years old. This 
acreage is in addition to the acreage now 
in bearing. It is estimated in five (5) 
years, under favorable conditions, the 
crop of Florida grapefruit will aggregate 
fourteen million (14,000,000) boxes, 
equivalent to forty thousand (40,000) 
carloads of 350 boxes each. 
The question confronting the Florida 
grapefruit growers is a market for this 
crop at a price that will not only pay the 
cost of production, but will allow a 
margin of profit. The cost of producing 
averages fifty cents (50c) per box, or 
nearly one cent (ic) per grapefruit. The 
average expense of picking, hauling, pack¬ 
ing, loading and selling in carload lots 
is not less than seventy cents (70c) a box, 
or ij^c.per grapefruit. We have shown 
that the average freight charges on four 
hundred (400) carloads to ninety-six 
(96) markets averaged 86.35c per box 
or slightly in excess of ij4c per grape¬ 
fruit. These items of cultural cost, pick¬ 
ing, packing and carlot selling total ap¬ 
proximately sH c P er grapefruit per car¬ 
load when the fruit averages 56 to the 
box. If you take one grapefruit as equiva¬ 
lent to two oranges, and if we take a price 
of 25c a dozen on oranges (which figures 
insure a free consumptive demand) on 
an equal basis it would mean 50c a dozen 
for grapefruit. Grapefruit would have 
to be retailed at this price in order to 
insure a consumptive demand to take care 
of the present crop, yet this price only 
leaves five cents (5c) a dozen between 
the cost of the fruit laid down in the mar- 
