FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
83 
able to come into this country since we 
have had a large supply of Valencias. 
Arrangements are being made now in Ja¬ 
maica to send an enormous supply into 
our ports; people are going there who 
know how to handle it; machinery is be¬ 
ing installed, and transportation is low¬ 
er from Jamaica than we can get here. 
Jamaica oranges are going to get into 
New York and the other centers, and 
they will furnish the supply that Florida 
could take care of. 
I would be very sorry to see this So¬ 
ciety put itself on record as endorsing a 
measure that would so hamper the in¬ 
dustry. I believe we can handle our 
crop just as well as California can han¬ 
dle her crop. California has no restric¬ 
tions. 
I have here a copy of an opinion ren¬ 
dered by Mr. Call to the effect that or¬ 
anges, when the peel turns to yellow all 
around on the tree, are mature because 
they were colored a good orange color, 
and could go into the market. I think the 
rules and regulations that govern Califor¬ 
nia should govern Florida, and I would 
like very, much to have the matter dis¬ 
cussed from a practical standpoint and 
all personal feelings put aside. It is not 
wise to vote for a matter that you will 
be sorry for having enacted into a law. 
Mr. Cline: We are all in this orange 
industry. I am speaking against this 
bill because of the menace it is to the 
orange growers’ interest. We should 
speak and vote against it. 
We are all in favor of handling the 
situation to the very best possible advan¬ 
tage. Nobody wants to put green fruit 
on to the market that will make the mar¬ 
ket turn against it, and the trade turn 
against it. 
Last year they brought me a paper to 
sign that I was opposed to 7 to I. I said, 
“I am not going to sign that paper, be¬ 
cause I don’t know what 7 to 1 means.” I 
later learned what 7 to 1 meant. It 
meant disaster to our industry. 
Next fall, when California is going to 
be out of the deal, the trade will be clam¬ 
oring for oranges at a handsome price. 
California will not have the supply. The 
foreign producers will flood the market 
with their green fruit, and we will be 
sitting here with our hands tied. I have 
prepared a chart and had it printed. I 
will have to look at it to become familiar 
with it. I have shown here when we 
could ship the fruit last season, by the 
State Chemist’s tests. 
In Dade County, October 24th was the 
first day on which our best oranges could 
be shipped. I said last year I was op¬ 
posed to this thing. I clamored for a 
green fruit law, but when our fruit was 
held up when it was good enough for any 
trade, and any trade was glad to get it, 
it was held up until October 24th. That 
is why Tam opposed to it. It hampers 
our industry. 
I am in favor of some kind of a test, 
but not the 1.30 acid test. Last year it 
did not reach that standard until the 
30th of October. In Hillsborough Coun¬ 
ty, the first date the fruit reached matu¬ 
rity, according to your 1.30, was Decem¬ 
ber 21st; Lake County, November 16th; 
Lee County, October 18th; Lee County, 
November 8th; Manatee County, Octo¬ 
ber 18th; Orange County, November 
