The herald., 1893-02-12
ADVICE ABOUT LEMON CULTURE.
Up-t0-Date Points About the
Way to Succeed.
How to Gather, Cure and Pack the
Fruit.
The Way to Pick and Select the Lemon.
The Curing Process-variety Not
So Important as the Nam
ner of Handling.
by 1. r. THRELKELD.1

AS the acreage being set to lemons ia
steadily increasing few general hints
upon the subject of curing lemons NAV
be of use to the amateur lemon grower.
Gathering the fruit is the first ct en- in
the process of curing. Care should be
taken to remove the fruit from the tree
40 soon as it is large enough without
reference as to it's greenness, or rather
its ripeness. The fruit should be
clipped-not pulled off-as 1t reaches
proper size-about the size that will
pass through three-inch ring may be
called the proper size. Care should be
taken to clip the fruit at uniform size
and to handle it with caution to prevent
bruising. After gathering, lemons
should be placed in boxes, about
the size of an ordinary apple box, and
set in cool dry place, there to remain
say. two or three days, when it should
be carefully removed from the boxes
and wrapped in tissue paper and care
fully packed in lemon boxes (such az
are used for shipping lemons and or
angee). Care should be taken not to
pack too closely or to pack the boxes too
full. When they are carefully wrapped
and packed in the cases they should be
put away in a cool dry place, placing
these carefully packed cases in tiers,
about five cases high and side
by side--50, 60 or 100 boxes may be
stacked together. When the cases
are thus placed they should be covered
with old sacks, horse blankets, or other
ordinary covering, where they may be
permitted to remain for say Is or 20
days unmolested. It may be we'll to
remark that dryness in curing lemons is
quite as essential, if not more 30, than
coolness; for if the temperature is low
cred in any manner whatever
by contact with dampness, lemons will
rot before the chemical process of wilt.
ing, yellowing and absorption begins.
The cases, after being packed, should be
placed say half an inch apart, so as to
admit of the circulation of pure air,
not forgetting that draft of air should
be avoided. After the fruit has remained
in the cases, piled and covered as indi-
in the meantime looking into some of
the cases occasionally to ascertain what
progress it is making in the way of cur
ing, the fruit should then be unwrapped,
uHpacked and permitted to lie in the
open air,-carefully avoiding draft
for an hour or two, when 1t should be
carefully re-wrapped with new tissue
paper and repacked into dry, clean cases
and again piled and covered as before,
and again permitted to remain in the
cases for 90 80. so or 30 days before be-
fore being placed upon the market.
1t may be well to say that in the re-
packing and recasing If any of the LEM
ons are found not to have any assimila-
tion with the process OF curing; If they
chow no signs of discoloration; are
will be, worthless stock, anda few such
in each box would condemn the whole
lot.
That uniformity in size is very i'm
portant factor in establishing the grade,
and thereby the good name and market
value of lemons grown and placed upon
the market from Southern California,
and growers should look we'll to that
point.
Varieties are not so important as the
clipping, asserting and handling. Some
buyers prefer the Eureka, others the
Lisbon and others again the Villa
Franca; but all agree as to uniformity
in size, great care in clipping and abso-
lutte caution in handling the fruit. both
in removing it from the tree, in placing
it in cases and with watchfulness in its
curing.
If these euggestions are carried out
we believe that California cured lemons
will command in the market as good
prices as foreign grown stock. Very
many people in this part of the country
have not undertaken the cultivation of
lemons from the fact that they feared
they would fail in curing them-unless
they first provided themselves with
double walled houses and cemented
cellars, which they deemed necessary
for the purpose, and which they, many
of them, were unable to do.
We believe, from tests made, that while
double walls and double roofs would be
quite useful in the curing OF lemons,
curing can be done without these, care
in clipping and handling being more im-
portant than anything else. 1t is true
double walls and roofs would tend to re-
duce the temperature, but is not OF 30
much Importance as care in handling.