46 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
through several seasons. All effort was 
made to have the work done under con¬ 
ditions as practical and as nearly com¬ 
mercial as possible. This has been no 
simple “laboratory” experiment. 
In brief: It has been found to our full 
satisfaction that the general principles re¬ 
lating to the behavior of the blue mold 
and the relation of handling to the oc¬ 
currence of decay are as true for Florida 
as they are for California. There is a 
definite relation between the handling of 
the fruit and resulting injury, and the de¬ 
cay caused by blue mold. 
It was found further that the Florida 
orange is more tender and more easily in¬ 
jured; yet sound uninjured Florida or¬ 
anges do not rot any more than sound 
California oranges, all conditions being 
the same. Conversely, injured Califor¬ 
nia oranges are just as susceptible to rot 
as injured Floridas under like conditions. 
This is a very important point and is 
really the crux of the whole matter. 
There are sufficient facts and data to 
prove to our full satisfaction the appli¬ 
cation of this general principle for Flor¬ 
ida conditions. 
What remains now to be done is to 
demonstrate the application to the Flor¬ 
ida growers. Our work, then, in the fu¬ 
ture will be in the nature of an educa¬ 
tional and demonstrational campaign us¬ 
ing the data we have obtained as the ba¬ 
sis of the work. The work of the past 
two seasons has been in the nature of such 
a campaign and next season, at least, it 
is planned to extend the work along these 
lines. The work has not been as exten¬ 
sive in the past as we would have liked 
to have it, owing to the lack of men and 
money. Last season the frost cut the 
work far short of what was originally 
planned. 
In order to make our educational cam¬ 
paign effective and of real value we must 
have the active and hearty co-operation 
of all the growers. We have had excel¬ 
lent co-operation in the past. We need 
more of it. It is not sufficient to give 
us respectful attention or tolerance. We 
need active support and interest. 
The application of the principles 
worked out are more difficult in Florida 
than in California. Industrial conditions 
are different. Weather, climate and sea¬ 
sonal conditions are different. 
We have found the California Fruit 
Growers' Exchange a great help in dis¬ 
seminating the results of our work in 
California. The Florida Citrus Ex¬ 
change organized this year has been 
of great assistance in extending and 
using the work and its results. 
More growers can be reached and 
with less effort than without the organ¬ 
ization. The establishment of new pack¬ 
ing houses with improved equipment has 
helped. The taking over of picking and 
handling to be done by gangs working 
under trained foremen has materially as¬ 
sisted in making our work more effective. 
This is not said with any lack of appre¬ 
ciation of the valuable co-operation which 
has been given by individuals and inde¬ 
pendent shippers and handlers, and we 
hope to continue to receive their active 
support. 
I had a trip through many of the Flor¬ 
ida. citrus districts last winter. From 
what I saw it is apparent to me that more 
careful and better methods are being 
sought and the desire to improve handling 
conditions is general. 
