The herald., 1894-01-01

him. He acknowledged that it was "a
horse Cd him."
Mr.. Hurd was surprised to find
that first class California lemons are
almost unknown in the east; nothing
but Sicily lemons are to be found in the
market. The few California lemons that
have been received in the eastern mar
kets have been of poor quality,
rotting very quickly. This is prob
ably due to the fact that before
shipping they have been washed and
scrubbed to remove scalebugs and smut,
and this process having destroyed the
oil cells that constitute the outer layer
or shell Of the skin the fruit is bolnd to
rot IN q short time. Lemons must be
handled like eggs from the time they are
cut, not picked, from the tree until they
reach the market. 1t is believed that
lemons grown nearer the sea (ss at Sicily
and Cahuengs) develop to greater de-
gree the protecting coating of oil cells,
upon this soundness of which the lie OF
the lemon may bs said to depend. 1t is
we'll known that after q lemon has been
kept for several months, the inner,
spongy, portion of the rind shriDks
away, or, as they say, becomes absorbed
by the fruit, and that hardly anything
remains but body of juice covered by
thin. tough shell. Knowing this, we
may well appreciate the Importance OF
avoiding injury to what will III time be-
come the only skin OF the fruit, j. O.,
the outer shell of oil cells.
Mr.. Hurd says that the only objection
found to mis- shipment was in the size of
the packages. Hls fruit was packed in
the regular California box, which meas
ures 12xl2 inches Gnside) by 26 inches
in length, outside measurement, and
contained 250 lemons. The regular east
ern or Sicily box measures 10 inches
deep, 13 inches wide (both inside meas
urements) by " inches in length (out-
side) The Sicily box is divided into
two compartments, as is the California
box, and contains 800 or $50 lemons, &C.
cording to size OF fruit. The larger lem
ons are packed by & in the layer, AMI
the smaller ones by 6 in the layer,
there being in either case layers OF
frnit in each compartment of the box.
The partition in the Sicily box is an
inch higher than the end boards, so that
there is bulge in the center of the box,
and in packing care ia taken to place the
larger lemons toward the center and the
smaller ones at the end, thus making a
snugly filled package. The boxes are
stood on end like barrels when shipped
or stored. While the actual internal
area of the Sicily box is slightly less
than that of the California box, yet it is
of such dimensions that there is no
waste space and it holds more of the
same sized fruit. The eastern market
is accustomed to the Sicily box, and our
people should adopt it. Mr.. Hurd in
tends to have lo5 made for his own
use. He will ship another carload to
Kansas City within about two
months, and at least carload each
month thereafter. Ii his trees keep on
at the rate they have in the
past year, it will not be long before he
will have more than carload month
to ship.
Now comes the most interesting part.
Mr.. Hurd's trees we're planted three
years ago last March. He has Just 425 |
of them. At 81 trees to the acre he has
81 acres of lemons. He has been pick
ing fruit from these trees for over year |
and half, aud has sold an enormous /!
quantity. His trees are picked over |
every two weeks the year through. |
TH enty-six crops year AS to the value
OF the product, who can say? He can
net at the present time of low prices in
Los Angeles or San Francisco at least
81 90 per box-probably $3 per box. He
does not cay what he sold for in Kansas
city. but it was certainly for much more
than he could get here, as he says he
did splendidly and shall continue to
ship to that market. We will suppose
that he netted So; that is, 5000 for the
carload OF 300 boxes, or one months
picking from five and one quarter acres.
How much would that be for l2
AS to the trees and the crop, anyone
can verify what is here said by visit to
Mr.. Hurd's beautiful place at Holly-
wood, the western terminus of the Ca
hueDga Valley railroad, and "a to the
value ofthe lemons, which are first-class,
cured lemons, that may be ascertained