The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-28
PICKING TIE ORANGES.
A Great Southern california Industry
That Is Only Fifteen Years Old.
From the Mem YORK SItn.

u
ago the oranges Of the eastern market
came from Florida, Cuba, Messina and
other European Countries. The Southern
California production was not prominent
feature and hardly factor in the trade
To-day the reverse is the case. Thousands
or trees In the new southwest are bending
low with the golden fruit, and thousands of
cleaning heaps are waiting in the groves to
be sorted, wrapped. packed, and shipped to
the east, where Uney will find ready sale.
The picking time is on IL Southern Cali
fOrnia, aud the fortunate possessor of an
orange grove can look upon his possessions
from dav TO day and make a fair estimate
of his wealth. The first picking is made
about the middle Of December in the San
Gabriel valley, aud from Jan. /, for a
month or 50, the gathering continues I'M
abated. a few weeks previous the whole
sale shippers 60 the rounds of the groves.
Many OF them have arrangements from
year to year with the owners, while many
producers prefer to make new contracts
each season. The agents inspects the grove
and offers 50 much per box or SO much for
the fruit on the tree, and here the respon-
sibility Of the owner ceases. The shipper
puts on his pickers, the grower receives his
check ard another year is begun.
The picking OF the orange in large orange
centers, such as the San Gabriel valley is
announced by an addition to the floating
population Gangs of the pickers-Mexi-
cans Chinese. Americans men and boys
gather from far and near, and the groves
are filed with gay laughter and song.
Everybody Is at work, and if the crop, as it
Is this year, is large, every one feels cheer
full and confident The orange grove OF the
imagination is a stretch of trees filed with
golden fruit, where one can lie in the soft
grass and luxuriato in the sight. The actual
grove, while beautiful to the eye, is not
place for lOunging, as the ground is or
should be kept poughed continually auI
irrigated often by floods Of water. But the
trees are attractive; ever green, often show
ing ripe and green fruit and white blossoms
at the same time, they are an enigma.
At Pasadena aud all through the southern
country the oranges are now being picked
A gang of men under the head of leader
or oyerseer takes possession Of a grove GIT
and early in the morning, two or three men
being appointed to a tree, and the picking
begins Tall stepaddeTs enable the picders
to reach the top branches, and each orange
is carefully CUT from the tree, as if it Is
pulled and the skin broken it will soon de-
cay. The picker wears bag into which
the fruit is dropped, which when filed is
handed to the washer or scrubber. The lat
ter, generally a Chiaaman, washes the
black stain or rust from the fruit polishing
it with cloth, after which it is passed TO
the assorter. S metines a simple machine
Is used, runway, so that the oranges of the
same size will all collect together. This &C.
complished, each orange is wrapped in
variously colored paper and placed
in the box ready for shipment. A counter
keeps tally Of the boxes as sometimes the
owner is paid by the box, as we'll as the
picker.
In some groves various machines are used.
Thus one patent is katie on a long pole,
which is connected with a canvas tube. The
orange cut IN this way drops into the chute,
and by All arrangement of traps drops from
one to another, and finally rolls into box
uUnjured. The ordinary method of pick
ing, however is by hand.
The orange pickers are usually jolly lot,
there being something about the business
apparently that enlivens the spirits and i'm
parts an air of jollity to the party. The
Mexicaus and Americans labor in harmony,
but an orange-picking team composed Of
Cinnamon and Americans appears to work
the reverse. The Chinese picker finds that
his ladder gives way without warning drop
ping HIM into the thOrny tree or upon the
ground. He is bombarded with oranges
from unseen quarters, or finds his pigtail
fastened TO e branch; in other words, as a
rule, his life In the orange grove is not as
pleasant as 1t might be. lie is strongly sus-
pected by his fellows of working at rates
that will not support Waite man OF family
addicted to taxpaying.
At the orange picking time the country
is a marvel to the easterner. While stand
ing among the oranges the picker looks
away over grove after grove, fields of flow
erS, acres Of golden eschOltZias, patches of
wild daisies, buebels and yellow violets-
and finally his eye rests upon the Sierra
Madres, or mother mountains rising, but
four or five miles distant, the garden wall
of this modern Hesperides. His nostrils in
hale the odOr of the orange blossoms, while
his eyes greet the snowbanks of a vigorous
winter. The great peaks are capped with
snow, and the upland blizzard is raging
with undated fury. T on tue vantage
ground Of the orange grove the wind can be
seen on Mount San Antonio whirling aloft
the snow In gigantic wraiths; tossing it
upward in huge clouds that rise hundreds
of feet, to be borne away over the lowland
and dissipated. With eyes on this arctic
scene the observer can scarce realize that
he can by single glance encompass winter
and summer. The orange picker, however,
has no time to spend on the aesthetics of the
subject; he is picking against time, and an
Gag east is waiting.
1t IS difficult to estimate in advance. The
crop of 1899 amounted to about 300 car
loads, each car containing 300 boxes, which
means that Southern California sent east
800. GOO boxes, or / 4 oranges for every man
and woman in the United States The
oranges that are being picked now and
shipped as this article is read will fill easily
5000 ordinary cars. They are marketed in
the east at a time when the Florida crop is
over, aud have to compete with foreign
oranges only, such as the Valencias and
Sicilian fruiJ, upon which a heavier duty
has been placed to afford the California
supply fair opportunity.
A glance at the hundreds Of orange
groves in Southern California at the pres
emit picking will herdly tend TO convince
the novice that fifteen years ago there were
very few bearing trees GU side Of the old
mission in the country; yet this is a fact.
The orange groves Of Pasadena, Riverside
and other localities are the result OF the last
fifteen years work, and the actual returns
tell that it has paid. Many Of those who
first came to California expecting to make
a fortune in oranges failed, but the pos
SCISSORS Of these fine groves to-day are the
enviei ones Of the community.
The first oranges in Southern California
were planted by the old mission fathers,
who undoubtedly brought the seed from
Spain, whereto it originally was carried
from western Arabia by wandering tribes
The orange is a remarkable tree. It -four
ishes in what is apparently the poorest soil,
is always green, ripe fruit will hang upon
It's limbs for a year, and it is always In
fruit or blossom. The tree will bear when