Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-08-25
ALL ABOUT LEMONS.
Where the Best Ones Grow and
How They Are Ripened on
the Way TO New York.
New York Sun.

NoM IOTk Duus
1t seems to be understood among
the foreign fruit dealers of this city
that Mr.. +. Baker knows all that is
worth knowing about lemons. He
says that nearly all the lemons that
come to this market are from Naples,
Palermo, Rodi, Sorrento, and Messina.
4 few of this years crop are already
arriving from Malaga, but they are
very green, have to be ripened here,
and are not fine lemons. From which
ever Of the ports named they come,
the usual way of getting the lemons
here is by sending them in steamers
around by Liverpool. Some are
shipped in sailing vessels, but they
are not apt to arrive in good con-
dition The voyage is too long.
Dealers in Italy buy lemons from
the growers and take their
chances in this market, shipping
them here for sale at auction. The
auction sale Of lemons here are often
very large, those of single day, in the
height of the sason, frequently amount
| ing to 10000 or 10000 boxes. Their
value depends entirely upon their quail
| ity and the supply in the market
Sometimes they are sold for 81 a box,
and at other times they command as
high as $l4 and SIS. Even good lem
ons occasionally do not bring at auc
ton enough to pay the freight upon
them. The dealers here do not have
regular agents at the points of ship
ment, but cargoes and lots are sent to
them all the time by local correspon-
dents who buy on speculation. Just
now the best lemons are worth about
S. box. That is an ordinary good
price. The new Malaga lemons are
selling for SO to IS box. They come
| in large boxes of 400, $50 or 800 in q
box. The gathering of the Italin lem.
ons this year has just been began, but
the height of the season will be from
February to June next.
Some soft, juicy lemons will not
keep more than month, no matter
how much care is bestowed upon
them, while theose that are firm and
hard will keep for four months. The
Messina lemons, which are, as a rule,
the best that come from Italy, are
aleo the best to keep. Palermos rank
next, and the poorest, as q general
thing, are from Naples. But Mr..
Baker says that there is no rule by
which you can set it down that the
fruit from one place will be uniformly
better than that from another place.
He has seen Naples lemons fetch
more at auction than Messinas. There
may be varieties among lemons, he
says, as there are among apples, though
dealers do not know anything about
them here, and only lump them all
under the names of the places they
come from.
ut looks to me-" he asked, "as if
each season, each particular town and
each individual tree was liable to he q
law unto itself and turn out, just as
the chance may fall, either much bet
ter OF much worse lemons than usual
| AS q sort Of glittering generality, ]
believe it may be said that better
lemons will come from high ground
than from low ground; but in the Ian.
guage Of the Mormon Bible, Blessed
is he who expects fi0tiihg, for he shall
not be disappointed. A good many
people have an erroneous idea tina
lemons are ripened and colored b!
artificial heat and sulphur fumes, auI
don't know what all. But those no
tons are simply bosh. The lemon
starts from home green and hard, bu
the paper in which it is clad ripens i
so rapidly that by the time it is OIL