Arizona silver belt., 1889-11-09
THE ORANGE HARVEST.
cnppln. the Fruit-The Sweating Pro-
 cess-Sorting and Packing.

cess-Sorting and Packing.
 When the latter days of September approach. the bizarre splendors of the rainy afternoon, which. for four months, has irrigated the grove, grow the less frequent, and with the soft; dry days of our autumn, we begin harvest; the Early Oblong OF Thornton's Bell, the E E, and the round Sang pur seeding begin to ripen, and arg ready for gathering.
 A grove is not in bearing until it's trees average 500 apples, so the labor of merely picking crop of oranges can be under stood. Nor is the gatherer permitted to pluck the fruit It swings it's tenn ptinS yellow among the darl-green leaves and iong, steely thorns high among the tops and low among the bending boughs. Tall step-ladders and light weights are in demand, for care must be taken not to break the fruitful branches already symptomatic of another year.
 The fruit must be "stem-cut." An adroit expert learns to clip the fruit, !,olding it between the third and fourth fingers and the shoulder of the thumb, transferring it lightly to the pouch sus- llcuded at his neck. The musk of the ndshaken, crushed, thorc-pierced, .ind fallen fruit, the pungent. aromatic ejors of the leaves and oil glands load
 A air with fragrance, as the exhilaiat- ...E ~ias2,4S1rrocee7ls.
 A bright, dry day must be chosen, as moisture on the rind tends to decay: and there must be caution in handling, ,s one bruised orange may infect an en- tire box or crate.
 A brisk hand stem-outting in full crop can average his 31) by the hour or 1000 apples per day; but this is not fre- quent on account of the cautious han fling. The picker transfers his sack or basket carefully to tse drying house, where the fruit is spread out to dry; this sweating process occupies three or more days. A good drying house is arranged with slated shelves, that the air may penetrate to the interstices of the strips. A light fire is of advantage, as it pro- notes the drying by which the rind be- comes firmer, taking crisp, horny texture, protecting the pulp from bruis- ing.
 The next step is selecting, removing all bruised, thorn pricked, or injured fruit into separate lots. This. which should precede arranging on drying floors or shelves to avoid contact, IS fol- lowed by separating the rusty fruit from the bright yellow. If this is carefully done, a selection may be made of rusty fruit in which the bronze contrasts prettily with the gold on the orange, Ike the bloom on peach. As the rust ill no way ilnpairs flavor O. juiciness, well-selectel box Of rust fruit compares with the "brights.
 Sorting is putting oranges of the same diameter in separate heaps. The next step is wrapping. \ thin tissue paper IS used. cut into squares of twelve or fourteen inches, the Florida sweet seed ing averaging ten inches in circumfer- ence; oblong, egg, mandarin being smaller. Setting the fruit on the sheet spread on the open palm, closing the hand uniteS the coraers for twist of the right hand and it is wrapped. The fruit is packed in thin elastic boxes, 12x1sx27 outside measurement-.the wrapped orange is packed stem down and, of an q aYerage three-inch diameter, will hold f6tr rows of nine to the row. UT 156. Tine us Ial c ointment of the south Florida fruit, however, is 129, packed lpple above apple, with paper division .o each layer.
 The paclling-box is divided in the ends md partition being of firm half inch good, and the sides flexible. By ar ranging the fruit differently, as is re- iuired in sizes exceeding or less than average diameter, space is economized y altering the rows to fit the obverse and re-enterlng curves. A size running ;T6 can be set by alternate threes and fJurs and be so packed.
 The process is delicate, the packing aust be close, fitting with even pressure without bruising, to bear the jarring of careless stevedores and 1ongshoremen, gho annually exasperate the cropper. In ,i,ting the box layer of paper is put 1t tie bottom and one lapped above and below, so that the fold, after the suc- tessive layers are closely fitted, may .ap over and cover the top. This upper row should rise not to exceed one quar- ;er of a1 inch above the box edging, tnat, on mailing down the elastic top, 'le sI ring of wood fiber ill it may have .! firm, constant pressure, to resist jarr. .as and displacement. Will Wallace ,iarney in Southern Bivouac.