Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-12
OUR ORANGES.
CROPS AND MARKETS BRIEFLY
GLANCED AT HERE.
How Many Cars a Day Ought to
Be Going Out to Handle the
Crop?

A gentleman who is in all respects
thoroughly conyersant with the subject
yesterday met q HERALD reporter and II
substance had this to say about the
orange crop Of this year, and its pros
pects
II read in your paper yesterday 9
somewhat jubilant note over the fact
that $50 carloads OF oranges had been
shipped up to date out OF Southern
California. Your young man wrote as
if this we're something remarkable.
Now, 1 nave read with much interest
the views Of the HERALD on the orange
market during the last few weeks, and l
| want to say your position is correct, and
| is the only wise way for the growers to
look at it. 1t is manifest to any one
where the HERALD's interest lies. 1t is
with the growers. 1t is their battle yon
have been fighting.
Now it is because you have been 30
| perfectly correct that want to set you
right as to this shipment OF 25O cars at
this date, nearly half way through Feb
ruary. Do you know what that means
Your sympathies are SO active in the
interests of the growers that you may
squirm little when you hear what 1
have to say. But the facts are always
our best guides, and no one shall be
able to attack my position who cannot
show that am wrong in some OF my
facts,
ITO begin. The season Tor active
shipment begins about January list And
close about June 30th. That is six
months, or twenty-six weeks. II we
have shipped 250 cars to date, or say
six weeks-we ship some before the end
of December, which will make up for
the few days lacking of six weeks-that
is at the rate Of nearly forty-two cars a
week, or six cars day. counting Sun
days.
"The next question is how many cars
are there to get rid of? Have you heard
any well informed person put the figure
below 1000 cars? To ship 1000 cars in
twenty-six weeks is about 154 per week
not AZ cars-or % cars per day. That
is more than 6 cars by nearly four
times.
"But starting in with this date let us
see what we must do during the rest of
the season. If six weeks out of the
twenty-six are gone. there remains
twenty weeks for business and if $50
cars are shipped, there remain $3.50
cars to ship in the time. That calls for
1877 per week, or 27 cars day nearly, in
Guiding all Sundays. Every day that
we fail to ship these % cars, raises the
average on the remaining days.
"Ot course the Florida oranges will
be gone in a few weeks more. and that
will leave US only the South Europe sup
plies to compete with. That renders
the season after the middle of March bet
ter than the week preceding that date. 1t
is also true that as the cold winter gives
place to spring with its higher tempera-
ture, the demand Tor fruit will increase
greatly. Another point in our favor is
that the supply of dried fruit at the
east is small, and oranges will have al
most clean sweep:
''But discounting to the full every
element in our favor, it must appear
that the orange grower who has his crop
sold to responsible people at fair price,
is in . position far from bad. He may
take things easy and let the middleman
worry over the facts have just set forth
for you. And I tell you some OF them
are not resting over easily in their beds
these nights.
"Any how / think this brief state
ment of facts will firmly establish the
correctness Of the HERALD's position,
that all the buyers in the market will
be needed to handle the orange crop OF
the section, and that under the circums
stances, at this late day in the season
the proposition to do away with all the
middlemen at one swoop would have
been unwise.'