56 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
we have. Ours can be combated, peach 
yellow and rosette cannot. If they can 
make a success of peach growing in other 
less favored sections, are we to give it up 
and acknowledge that we are not as skil- 
full horticulturalists as they. 
Now for the harvesting and shipping. 
First, you should plant sufficient acre¬ 
age yourself or organize an association 
in your neighborhood who would plant 
sufficient acreage to load and ship in car¬ 
load lots, about thirty acres of a variety 
is sufficient for this, forty or fifty would 
be better. Grade and pack all the fruit 
uniformly, being sure to have every 
crate so full that you could not get anoth¬ 
er peach in the baskets. Separate the fruit 
and dofi’t put any cull fruit in the bottom 
of the baskets, let the bottom be as good 
or better fruit than the top. Use nothing 
to fill up baskets but peacljes. Excelsior 
either in top or bottom, paper used in 
any manner prevents ventilation, de¬ 
ceives the buyer and makes a bad repu¬ 
tation for your pack and brand. Have 
the fruit graded and packed by pro¬ 
fessional fruit packers, it will cost you 
but little more and your pack is right. 
Care in packing peaches is more im- 
])ortant than any other fruit. In load¬ 
ing yoiir refrigerator cars, see that 
the car is clean and that nothing ob¬ 
structs the ventilators between the ice 
chests and the body of the car at each 
end both next to floor and at the ceiling. 
This is necessary for circulation. Re¬ 
member without circulation there will be 
no refrigeration. Load peaches as soon 
after picking as possible and if you have 
to detain car more than one day, arrange 
to get a ton and a half of ice to put in 
bunkers, so as to have them as full as pos¬ 
sible when car leaves the orchards. Ar¬ 
range with the railroad to have car re¬ 
iced as soon after leaving the orchard as 
possiible. Remember that the first 24 
hours after the fruit is placed in the car 
is the critical time. The fruit continues 
to ripen and mature until cooled and re¬ 
frigerated to the pit. If car is .poorly 
iced and it takes 36 or 48 hours for this 
refrigeration, the fruit has had that many 
hours of ripening process going on with¬ 
in it. and it matters not how well the car 
is iced during the latter part of journey, 
the damage is done and your fruit melts 
down almost as soon as it comes from 
the car. If good refrigeration can be 
had at first and the fruit cooled to refrig¬ 
eration point in from’ 6 to 12 hours, the 
iceing for the last part of the journey is 
not so imiportant. 
Experiments are being made in quick 
cooling of the fruit before the cars move, 
by artifically circulating the cold air in 
the car, and by this means bring the fruit 
to a refrigeration point in from four to 
six hours. Fruit quickly cooled this way, 
is claimed to hold up, an almost indefinite 
time if temperature is kept reasonably 
low, and when taken off the ice holds up 
almost as long as when picked direct 
from the tree. 
I will not attempt to tell a Florida Hor- 
ticulturalist how to market his fruit. 
But would say that of all fruit, you should 
try to establish a reputation for your 
pack of peaches and I would say put 
enough of them on one market so that 
your commission house at least knows 
that you are in the peach business. 
Do not scatter your shipments a few crates 
in a place, on such shipments is where 
you are robbed by both express company 
and questionable commission men. 
This paper being long and no 
