Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-25

| prune Tor you, and more than is desira-
BILE. Now, this is all that is necessary,
except annually to clean out any wood
IN the tree which is too near or has got
through being useful to the tree, always
remembering that the best fruit of the
lemon comes from the inside of the tree
and nearest the ground.
PROCESSING THE LEMON.
For many years the question of lemon
curing has puzzled me; so many plans
for keeping lemons, each one partially
successful, and the first warm DAYS of
May and June found the lemons on the
market, because beginning to spoil or
dry. My first experience was-well, it
is time wasted, perhaps, to dwell upon
those failures sufficient it is to say that
l have been through all, and not until |
used room plastered as for living, with
attention turned to excluding light,
draught and heat, did see the glimmer-
ings of success; even then many lemons
decay ed, yet those that were good kept
well and proved to be fine lemons. Hav-
ing this clew, | began to think that the
fruit was not taken from the tree with
proper care, and gradually l used one
plan and another until [ reached my sue
cess OF today.
LEMON HOUSE.
1t is not necessary, unless one has
large lot of lemons, to build a very ex-
tensive or expensive house. Mine cost
me, with all the appurtenances, about
$2500, and will contain six or seven
carloads of fruit, properly arranged,
to keep from four to twelve months,
I'd aIA I hn
ment two large rooms which | use for
storing and packing, also for box mate
rial, etc. Feeling confident that the
best success in handling lemons will
come from each orchardist making ar
rangements to keep his own fruit,
recommend all growers of lemons to
build house somewhat after my plan,
| larger or smaller according to their
orchards; in few words, plastered
room, or rooms inside an upholstered
but closely boarded and ventilated
structure, and a hallway running around
these rooms, which serves double pur
pose, giving an inside passageway to
rooms and allowing what is most essen
tial, the boxes of lemons (newly picked)
to be piled up in the outside passage
until they gradually throw off excessive
moisture and permit any lemon which
has been bruised through careless hand
ling, or otherwise, to develop imperfec-
tions, etc., before the lemons are finally
put to their rip Van Winkle" sleep.
| would also advise that if the basement
is not needed, to set the house nearer
the ground and shade with trees and
vines, which will keep the temperature
down, as it is desirable to keep lemons
as near the 60-degrees limit as possible.
The doors should be made to set close in
the inside rooms, no windows. A few
windows with close fitting shutters,
ought to be placed IN the outside struc-
ture; board tightly outside and inside
rooms, and | now think lathing and
plastering on the inside with movable
ventilator in ceiling, would be an inn
provement on mine. My rooms were
plastered on ceiling, and sometimes
moisture from spoiled lemons, which
were not properly handled before put
ting in the rooms, caused the plastering
| to fall.
WHEN TO CLIP FRUIT.
When lemons, on well cared for trees,
are from two and one half to three in
ches in diameter, they should be clip
ped. There should be good proportion
OF the fruit, say one-half to two-thirds,
ready to come from the tree from the
middle Of October to the middle of
December, and it would be best to make
two separate clippings in that time, for
if you only make one some may be too
large and others too small. Some grow
ers clip smaller than | recommend, but
the three hundred to the box size is the
most popular. The longer you keep the
lemon the more it will be reduced in
size; you will have to make allowance
| for ontractlon-one-third to one-half-
before it is marketed. Every three to
| four weeks the trees should be gone
| over for stable fruit until all is gath
cred. Color cuts no figure, only if the
tree is not in good condition, or suitable
| lemons are not all gathered, my rule
will not hold. It has been claimed that
! the first clipped fruit keeps better than
the last, and that there is some of the
fruit that is not true lemon. Now, l
take no stock in such claims the trou-
| BILE comes either from excessive chill, or
from lemons that have been overlooked
in former clippings; both will spoil and
affect those near them after being gath
cred. OF course, do not say that there
is not some fruit on lemon trees that,
through some, as yet, unexplained rea-
son, will be no good. This is true of all
fruit, and is not confined to the lemon,
or less to the first clipping than the
others; only wind and exposure will
make more OF this fruit in later clip
pings than in first.
HOW TO CLIP FRUIT.
The grower should provide himself
with proper ladders, which may be ex-
tension or rsell-supporting. First, though,
he should secure careful, trustworthy
men, who will not think it too trivial to
carry out the details which must be OBJ
served in order TO secure success. Do
not hurry them: recollect that, although
their time costs you money, you will
make more by giving them all the time
necessary to do this work well, and
should not be hired to pick by box or
piece. have never used rings for meas
urement, although some growers do.
1t may be an advantage in getting the
exact size, yet there is disadvantage
in the fact that some lemons are ready
to come from the tree little smaller
than others, and although purchasers
desire mostly the three hundred size,
yet three hundred and sixty, three
hundred and twenty-four, as well as
two hundred and fifty are good sizes.
Also, the gloves and clippers which the
workmen have to use with the rings de-
lay the work. The eye OF a good work
man is all that is needed, and if he is