AmMar°chr'  iP9hi8im'}     Orange-Oil  Industry  in  Jamaica.  iSg 
and  sharp,  either  all  of  the  orange  oil  will  not  be  extracted  without 
increased  labor,  or  the  orange  juice  will  come  through  and  make 
extra  filtering  necessary,  with  its  attendant  waste. 
Several  attempts  have  been  made  in  the  past  to  introduce  ma- 
chinery to  supplant  the  simple  rinder  now  in  use.  These  have  met 
with  but  little  success.  The  rinding  in  Jamaica  usually  is  done  by 
women  or  children  who  work  for  small  wages. 
Very  little  oil  can  be  taken  from  the  skin  of  each  orange,  so  that 
considerable  labor  is  necessary  to  get  even  a  pound,  and  the  quantity 
of  oranges  consumed  is  very  large.  The  trees  are  scattered,  and 
the  gatherers,  principally  girls  and  young  boys,  are  sent  out  into  the 
properties  to  gather  the  fruit  and  collect  the  oil  on  the  spot.  They 
soon  become  very  expert.  By  this  method  they  have  only  to  carry 
the  oil  to  the  manufacturers,  the  fruit  being  left  on  the  ground. 
The  picking  is  done  in  the  early  hours  of  the  day;  the  rinding 
should  be  done  immediately  in  order  to  get  the  greatest  quantity  of 
oil  of  the  best  color.  The  fruit  should  be  picked  when  full,  but 
not  entirely  ripe,  as  in  the  latter  condition  the  oil  has  a  deeper  color 
and  brings  a  lower  price. 
If  the  picking  and  rinding  take  place  during  the  heat  of  the  day 
the  yield  is  smaller  than  when  done  at  a  lower  temperature.  The 
operator  sometimes  sits  on  a  box,  the  rinder  being  attached  to  an 
arm  extending  in  front.  A  good  worker  will  get  2f/2  pounds  of  oil 
from  1,200  oranges. 
By  far  the  greater  amount  of  orange  oil  produced  in  Jamaica  is 
of  the  sweet  variety.  Bitter  orange  oil  is  produced  in  exactly  theu 
same  way  as  the  sweet  oil,  except  that  the  bitter  oil  is  obtained  from 
the  Seville  or  sour  orange,  and  is  not  as  valuable  as  the  sweet  oil. 
When  the  latter  is  being  sold  at  $1.75  a  pound,  the  producer  of 
bitter  oil  counts  himself  fortunate  if  he  succeeds  in  obtaining  $1.25. 
The  bitter  oil  is  used  also  to  flavor  cakes  and  biscuits  and,  to  a 
lesser  degree,  in  the  preparation  of  perfumes  and  essences. 
