The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-01-01
For THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURIsT.
Selling Oranges on the Tree Antagon-
ICES the Exchange.

FTulu EXcnanSo. Inc Exchange certainly
has not been to blame for the rush of
green, sour fruit upon the market in No
vember and December. In the neighbour
hood of Apopka the fruit was nearly all
bought on the trees for about $1 per box
In November. The picking commenced at
once. The oranges were taken from the
trees-run through the sizer and packed
and shipped as fast as they could be gotten
ready. At this time the crop is about
gone. 1t has been the buyers that have
played havoc with themselves and the
Florida oranges. The Exchange bulletin,
week or two ago said the buyers had
lost from 10 to % per cent. on their in
vestments, instead of gaining that much.
The result of this will be that another
season the buyers will not be willing to
pay so much for the fruit. They will bid
lower for the fruit each season, unless the
growers support the Exchange, and there
by offsett this tendency
| cannot see why this indiscriminate
buying and shipping of fruit does not
operate materially against the Fruit Ex
change. 1t may have advice one day
that the stock OF fruit is limited in Chi
cago, or other cities, and direct several
car loads there-they cannot know how
many carloads are already en- route there
from these buyers in different parts of
the State, and altogether may make a
glut and prices run down. For the Ex-
change to make a success the fruit grow
ers should ship it practically all their
crop Then it can furnish each city Just
the quality it needs. A good price would
be obtained and all gluts would beavoid-
ed To all the large cities solid fruit
trains could be forwarded and the freight
rates reduced to a minimum. A saving
of rs cents on box in freight will in an
other year count up nearly one half a
million of dollars.
From what | learned from the vice
president of the Union | thought that the
Exchange had too few distributing points.
Agencies should be established in all the
large centres of trade in each State. The
country or village merchants who deal
in these centres can then purchase their
oranges at great saving of freight. In
this way the country people will con-
sumo quantities of our fruit who scarcely
ever see an orange. TheSouthern States
will consume great portion of our crop
if it is brought to them cheaply; besides
there is less risk from freezing in the South
In the town of Taladega ten years ago,
scarcely any oranges were sold, now they
demand hundreds of boxes. So it will be
with all the other towns and villages
when they can get them cheap. When
this point is reached will there be oranges
enough? What will become of the cry of
lover production?" | think there is a
bright future yet for the orange grower.
Some of the evils of the past four years
may yet lead to great good for us. Since
the freeze very few new groves have been
set out, nursery stock has been in light
demand except for California trade Calcu-
late what an effect this check in planting
new groves will have on the production of
fruit four or five years hence Had the
planting continued as it had the three
wears preceding the freeze, wemight have
looked for over production in the near