The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1878-10-16

Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen:
I cannot better comply with thu
spirit of yeur request to give practl
cal directions for gathering and pre-
pairing fruits and vegetables for a
distant market, than by describing
the actual methods used on our OWL
place
1t has been our aim to gather oul
crops with the least possible brulslng
and exposure, to assert them WITH
care, to put them up in packages
suited to preserve them in transit
The particulars vary with the several
kinds. We will take mp first the
fruits, and begin with the queen OF
fruits,
THE ORANGE.
Each picker has tall and light
ladder, exclusively his own, and, be-
sides, he has the use of short point
ed one handy to set up in the midst
of the tree. The oranges are brought
down in bag slung on the shoulder
by a canvas strap two inches wide,
reaching from top to bottom, and
firmly sewed at each end. The COM
mon corn sack is too perlshable, and
catches too easily on the thorns We
use the closely woven meal bag. A
small hoop, say that of nail key,
is sewed into the mouth of it to keep
it open. AS the sack is slung, it is
as handy as breast pocket for re-
ceiving the oranges one by one as
they are gathered. The weight is on
the shoulder, and the mass partly on
the back and partly by the side. The
oranges are cut form the tree with
the rounded point of pen knife; and
it, as will often be the case, especially
With beginners, stem is left long
enough or pointed enough to do in
jury it is cut again SO as to leave it
square and closely shaven.
If the fruit is to be hauled far in
carts over rough road, we give it a
good bed of green moss to ride upon.
We have generally used barrels with
moss in the bottoms; we pour di
rectly from the barrels into the dry
ing trays. These are six feet square,
the Stats going from front to back.
The trays are hinged so that the
fronts are raised and lowered at
pleasure, allowing the fruit to roll
backward or forward. We fill in
two layers when the quantity calls
for it. We do not recognize any
sweating process, but we let the fruit
season gradually. AS soon as it
seems softened and wilted, be it in
one day or seven, it is ready for pack
ing. Meanwhile it may be assorted.
The assortment respects both the
size and the color. Small dark fruit
we generally pack in barrels but
stable bright oranges we have found
it better to ship in boxes. We have
generally packed in moss both boxes
and barrels, but we express no prefer
ence for our own mode over the or
binary one of rolling in paper.
Whenever we use moss for oranges
or tomatoes, we place first layer of
moss, then layer of fruit, and so on
alternately, finishing with moss, al
ways insisting that the box or barrel
be heaped SO full that it has to be
pressed down hard to cover.
Ii asserting, whetherit be one kind
offruit or another,we deem itextreme-
ly important to discard all imperfect,
weak and perishable specimens. We
do the best we can with such at our
home market, but even if we must
throw them away we think that better
than to run the risk of letting them
injure the keeping and the sale of the
better class.
In regard to the choice of moss OF
paper, the preference may depend on
circumstances. So far as the sending
through in good order is concerned
we have found the moss perfectly sat
isfactory. The greater neatness Of
rolling in paper may sometimes be 9
consideration, and difficulty of pro-
curing Woss may 6e another.
STRAWBERRIES.
The handling of strawberries is g
much nicer undertaking than that Of
any other of our fruits. We require
them to be picked without taking
them between the thumb and fingers
at all. They are taken by the stem
and nipped off with thumb OF
tinger-nail, leaving on the berry al
least an inch of stem, as a short stub