The Florida agriculturist., 1885-02-18
vIsIE ~ ! - 9AeNlNa nol,sl


On Saturday last we visited fae scSes@,-
lshment q tssafhn < >iSelleys, AcomnliS-
sion and wholesale Shippers st,f lsalifor.
MIA green and arSsSl ersIifS. me lnil,line
which Is 3 handsome tNoSStosv AritsS
situated on Nam street, was hliilt lYV this
firm especially far the frcit business
The upper story Is aeVotea entirels- To
boN-maklngs and several men ara con
stantly employed at this work. The
lumber, clss IN proper sizes for the boxes.
is brought by Fall nom The Trucsee mills
in the northern part of the STATE. The
cost OF an orange box made M Is .aAaut
10 cents.
The cellar Is used Sor storing lemons
until they are properly Sweatcd ana cared
for packing and shipping. Ii is now
filed to the ceiling. Griffin 4 SSellev
say they can preserve lemons longer IN
a dry, cool cellar than IN any other Way
they are put in shallow boxes and In
spected every two weeks
At the street entrance were a number
of orange growers wagons loaded with
fruit just from the orchards, together
with four four-horse and three two-horSe
freighting wagons being loaded with
boxes of oranges, taking away on this
morning alone 600 boxeS-tNo car loads.
These wagons convey the fruit 10 the
Cotton Station of the Southern Pacific
Railway, seven miles distant. which, Of
course, adds largely to the expense and
trouble of marketing the crops The
railway company which first extends a
branch track to Riverside will secure
both large business and the blessings
OF the orange growers. Last year the
orange crop of Riverside was iorty car
loads. This year it may reach ten times
that amount. In five years several thou
saRd carloads OF oranges and lemons
will be grown and shipped from River
side alone, to say nothing of the rasin
crops and canned and dried fruits.
In the packing room which comprises
the whole of the ground floor, busy
scene presents itself A number of men
were carrying in from the growers wag-
ons boxes of oranges just as they had
been that morning picked from the trees.
There was to be seen every variety of Or
ange and in state of perfection to be
found nowhere outside of the modern
garden of Eden-Riverside First on the
list is the Washington Navel, superior to
any other orange grown; then the deli
cious st. Michael the Malta Blood, the
the konah, Mediterranean Sweet and
a dozen other budded varieties and
seedlings of every size and degree
OF excellence. Every mans load was
deposited separately on the floor and la
belled with his name. The oranges were
then taken to the grader, an inclined
table covered with bars, through which
the oranges dropped to a canvass floor
and from thence to the boxes in which
they were conveyed to the packers. The
grading table is divided into three sizes,
beginning with the smallest. The differ
ent sizes are packed separately.
The men engaged in packing stand at
table extending the whole length of the
building. Each man is numbered and
his checks bear number to correspond.
He places check on each box as he fin
ishes packing it. Each orange is wrap
ped in paper and placed tightly in rows
in the box, counted and the number in
each box numbered on the end. The
packer also marks the name of the grow
.er on each box, also the variety of the
orange, as it is packed. The box is then
taken to the press, the ticket removed
and at night placed to the credit of the
packer whose number it bears. The box
is placed under the press and the cover
nailed on. 1t is then taken by the stem
ciler, who puts on it the different brands,
credits it on his tally board to the grower
to whom it belongs and stacks it up
ready for shipment.
Lemons are packed in the same man
ner except that they are graded by hand.
! Griffin < Skelley pack and deliver the
fruit on the cars for the growers and sell
it tor them on commission, returning
them the proceeds promptly as soon as
received. Each growers fruit is invoiced
separately, and the returns show what
each lot realized, separately, SO that the
man who grows fine fruit receives the re-
ward to which he is justly entitled.