Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-03-19
EMERALDA ISLAND.
A PARADISE OF ORANGE GROVES IN
LAKE GRIFFIN, FLA.
All About the Luscious Fruit Graphically
Told By . vireinIa Lady Now In the
Land Of Flowers.

-
fCorrespondence Of the Richmond Dispstch.1
EmERarDA. LAKE COUNTY, Fla, March
l6.-Here / am in the midst Of $50 acres OF
continuous orange groves with the Their
mometer registering generally between 70
and 50 degrees. The air is soft and balmy
with just enough breeze to make 1t de-
lightful. Emeralda is IN island bounded
by the waters OF the Ochiewaha river and
Lake Griffin. ard is only o few hours
sail from Leesburg. q thrifty town and
winter resort of about 1000 population.
Emeralda has nc railroad, but Two lines OF
steamers come mp the river and over the
lake daily. and oftener during the busy
Shipping season. Some ten or twelve
families live on the island. and these either
owners who live elsewhere. who look after
their groves mere. There is one avenue or
street q mile long. which runs through
tho principal portion of the island
down TO the docks. Z on either side OF
this avenue are the tratnways owned by
the Florida Central and Pacific and by
the Florida Southern railroads, for the
purpose of conveying the fruit from the
different packing-houses down TO the
wharf. whence it IS shipped to the North
ern cities. On both sides of this avenue
are the groves, and in the midst of them
are the dweiling-houses, stores, and post
Office.
BAMNocKs.
There are also som very rich and beauti-
full hammock lands" on Emeralda, the
largest and prettiest being a palmetto
hammock or grove comprising fifteen
acres. The drive through this hammock
IS beautiful. The iive-oak hammocks are
very pretty, too. The orange trees in their
wild state all grow within these pal
metto or live-oak hammocks, because
they require q very rich SOIL TO
grow in. All of the natural orange
mocks and grating the wild trees from
the sweet ones. lbe groves OF natural
growth are considered tho best. Emeralds
Is almost wholly devoted to the cultiya-
ton Of the orange. and there are some OF
the finest bearing owe In the State. The
grove / am now staying on Is only tve
acres, aud brought $4,20 for one years
yield. The busy fruit season begins In
November and lasts until April. Some
prefer gathering their fruit and getting 1t
of early in time to demand the holiday
prices. but most wait until much later,
as the market is higher in the spring
and the late fruit much sweeter.
These groves are indeed beautiful; the
long rows of trees with their dark
green foliage and rich golden fruit, re-
heved here and there by the tender green
shoots" that are just putting forth-har-
bingers of next years crop-and the ira
grant w%axen-like orange flowers. form a
picture that would delight the eye of any
true lover OF the beautiful.
Now, the "orange-men," the pickers,
the packers, the sIzers. the s~orters, the
box-makers, etc., are all hard at work
getting the fruit of. The head-maD IL
called by oil the boss packer" and it Is
quite interesting to watch them at work.
Each picker is provided with a long lad
der, a bag TO swing across his shoulders,
a pair of clippers quilting Injuries the
fruit and orange boxes in which TO put
the fruit as soon as gathered. A man is
engaged in hauling the filed boxes to the
packing-house and bringing back empty
ones to be filled. and also to keep the
italy" OF the number of boxes each
picker gathers. The pay. tor, pick
ing q box is 4 cents. A good hand picks
seventy-fve in a day. After the oranges
are taken to the packIng-house they first
pass through the hands of the sorter, who
throws into other boxes all that are imper-
feet in shape or in any other way. These
are packed separately anc marked "culls,"
and, of course, do not bring 30 good O
price as the perfect ones. which are called
- brights," those with q brownish tinge
beng called "russets" and are the sweet,
est orange, though they do notsell so well.
as they are not 30 pretty.
THE SIZE.
Now the oranges are run through a
sizer-a machine which is made so that by
pouring the fruit into it and turning a
crank it lets all oranges of the same size
fall into the same bins that are ready TO
receive them. The wrappers and packers
have their stands by these different bins.
and their hands fly so fast in their work
piece of the machinery. Il packer
always knows just how many OF
any size twill take TO fill box
nicely, and he goes about 1t system
atically. The sizes run one hundred and
seyenty-sixes, called ''seventy-sixes." ono
hundred and twenty-sixes, called TWENTY
sizes" one hundred and ffties, called
I" ~ffties." "ninety-sixes," and sixties"
Now Just so many of any of these above
named sizes fills a box evenly when
packed properly. One would imagine
twas a very easy thing to pack a box of
oranges. but let him try, as did. and he
will find himself very awkward about 1t.
SCIENCE.
There is a certain science about 1t not so
very readily acquired. There 10 science in
the movement IN which the ~wrapplng-pa-
per is taken upin one hand and the orange
in the other, and to the little twist given
which secures the paper around the orange.
Then there must be so many rows and SO
many oranges to the row. For instance. a
box of ffties" must be packed IN layers
OF "fours and threes n-that is, four
rows with four to the row, and three rows
with three to the row, of course alter
mating.
WHAT THEY X
A good D and packer can put
ar" fifty boxes a day, receiving 5 cents
per box. | forgot to mention that q " box
maker" is kept busy all the time making
nice. new boxes at a cent and a half a box,
generally making from $500 to $3.50 per
day. AS the fruit is wrapped and packed
the boxes are taken IN charge by another
hand, whose sole business it IS to nailthem
up securely; then another marks them
with the stencil of the owner of the fruit.
and they are in cdp-o-pie order for the
tram to take them down to the docks for
shipment. VIRGINIA.