The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-10-28
Er,ORIDA'S ORANGE CROP.

Colonel" was the news correspondent .
greeting to Col. d. H. Elliott, assistant
editor of the Florida Dispatch, and also
travelling agent of what is known as the
"Florida Dispatch Line" of the oavah-
nah Florida and Western railway.
"Would you mind giving the Savannah
News some points concerning the conoi-
ton and prospects of the crop, and not
ONLY the Grange crop, but also the WIN
ter and spring vegetable crops
Il have Just returned from the leading
orange and vegetable growing sections OF
the state, and / visited them with
a view to carefully make an estimate OF
the yie,d of the orange crop and the pros
pects of the winter vegetable season, al
though it's little early for the latter.
"Of the oranges, | will say that IN
size and general appearance they are pct
ter than last season. The yield will be
very near 900, 900 boxes. Last season
the crop approximated 10000 boxes.
The boxes will average 165 to l'o Or
anges-that is, standard boxes. Last
season the standard box held $50, the
season previous only about 100. Inc
crop is. of course, scattered throughout
the peninsula, but not so far south as
some people think. For instance,
think that there will be gathered at least
$4,000 boxes within five miles of the st.
Johns river between here and faiatka-
BUT LITTLE RUST.
"Uow about rust .? hear it has Inter-
ally covered the Louisiana orange crop
"Here in Florida there is less of than
ever known before The fruit is larger,
brighter, and smoother, / think, than |
have ever seen it. The rust, which
everywhere is the work of an insect IS
noticeably absent this season. 1t is
great in Jury to the sale of the fruit, ana
growers here have great cause to reJoice
at this good fortune alone.
'.What do you think about the price
this season =
That's a pretty hard question l
think, however. that the grower will get
from 81 rs to So per box"
THE EXCHANGE.
What do the growers generally
throughout the orange belt say of the eX-
change; are they going to patronlze 1t!
.'There is great difference of opinion
on the subject. A great many-ln fact
nearly aIl-say they are going to patron
ize the exchange to somo extent, but
MANY of them will hesitate to ship their
entire crop to it. Numbers OF them
have established connections with good,
YeliabIe commission houses, and it will
be next to impossible to wean them from
these mediums"
'What do you think of the probable
success the exchange"
lam a friend to the exchange and
would like to see it succeed. | think 1t S
a good thing, but | doubt if it can ever
be made the broad, wide success that its
promoters seem to think"
..Why?"
"Well, it is good in theory, but how
will it pan out in practice? 1t will have
to be admitted that the Florida oranges
world wide reputation has been won by
the marketing of those ripe, luscious
specimens of the fruit that mature be
tween Jan. and March I, or there
aDOutS. IL he eNcidIlSe uoeS hoe " "''iie -
handle any but the best oranges, it can
not afford ~ handle any other kind
Well, then, it will have to wait until be
tween these dates to get them. In TIN
meantime many oranges will ripen. o
apparently rpen, and the grower vii
want to sell and realize. What will III
do? Send them forward to his fOrme
commission merchant with instruction
to do the best he can. But say they d
not do this, but wait until the full sea
son and send to the exchange? Wha
then? Why, we see here within tn
short space of sixty days an overtiowin
and glutted exchange. The orange
are pushed through to the exchange
commission men in the several large CT
les. These markets then are bound
become glutted. The prices fall in con
sequence, and the exchange is curse
from Dan to Bersheba. These are on
one or two of the impracticabilities. Th
idea that the exchange can make or col
troll a market is a mistake. Nor can II
exchange ever be satisfactory mediu
for the sale and supply. until there
more attention paid by the growers
the order of ripening. They have learl
ed 70 pay close and judicious attentit
to the variety, and the consequence
much finer oranges; but they must d
tribute the order of ripening over wild
area of time. It-has been demonstrate
that the fruit can be so trained and pr
pagated that is will ripen, and ripen
perfection, too, all along from Dec. /
April /. When this is done then an e
change might come near handli
them"