The herald., 1895-01-12
GREEN TIPS ARE DISAPPEARING,
The Orange Crop Is Ripening
Rapidly.
A Growing Demand for the Cali
fOrnia Product.
Frozen Fruit Falling on the Chicago APP
petite-Encouraging Reports
From the East.


A blizzard raging east of the Rockies and the
mercury standing at II in the shade in South
ern California, not even falling below 81 at
night Such are the conditions that confront
the orange grower in Southern California. and
which account for his exuberance of spirits.
Better weather for the ripening of the orange
crop could not be desired Each setting sun
sees richer golden color on the fruit Green
tips are rapidly disappearing. A very few
weeks more of this glorious sunshine will ft
almost the entire crop Tor the market.
Dispatches Ilom Chicago reported blizzard
raging there Friday morning, special gov
eminent weather bureau bulletin gave notice
of a colo wave in Eastern Nebraska and Kan
sas. ,Cold weather at the east however, does
not AFFECT orange shipments to any great eX-
tent The mercury has to go about 10 degrees
below zero before oranges will freeze Ia transit
III the thick-walled refrigeratins cars now IN
use. If the mercury threatens to go much be-
low zero, trains of fruit are sidetracked in
roundhouses or carsheds along the route until
the weather moderates; SO it is seldom that any
fruit is lost by freezing in transit
ENCOURAGING REPORTS
Reports IrOu luS chhl W Do Ahooe vi
couragi in regard to prices. Chicago is the
principal depot for frozen Florida oranges, the
damaged fruit being hawked about there and
sold for what it will bring AS yet it has not
affected the price of choice California fruit
Fancy navels sre selling in Chicago at 3.25
per box, while the price in New York where
considerable foreign fruit has to be competed
with, is So rs to $4.0
There ale sundry rumors about various
Southern California Fruit exchanges having
raised prices, but this ia denied at exchange
headquarters in this city. The fact is the
schedule prices have not been changed, but
some of the associations that are unable to fill
orders as fast as received, are quoting higher
prices to correspondents in anticipation of an
advance all along the line by the time the fruit
gets ripe enough to ship in large quantities.
The San Francisco market is almost bare at
present and the demand is growing stronger.
Good prices are anticipated at next weeks
auction sales.
No cutting Is contemplated between the ex'
changes ana the commission men, and all
hands are in the field 10 make the most that can
be made out OF this seasons output
EASTERN BUYERS COMING.
The purchasing agents of q number of large
fruit houses who went to Florida before the
freeze, are now en- route from that state to
southern California. BY the time the crop is
ready for general movement, there Will be
more buyers here than ever before IN the MS
tory of the Southern California orange trade.
As an illustration of the care exercised this
year in grading the fruit, it may be stated that
niue-tenths OF all the culls this year are not
damaged but green oranges. picked by accident
and rejected by the packers because OF their
uuripsness. The pickers can not avoid pluck
ing more less green fruit along with the
ripe, but this is carefully segregated ana sold
as Gu Is instead OF being mixed with standard
or choice and palmed off as ripe fruit. A few
green oranges in one box may spoil the sale OF
a. carload.
ADVICE TO SHIPPERS.
The San Diego Union makes the following
comment on the pra crice of shipping green or
anges which ia quite TO the point, but hardly
warranted in view OF the exceeding care exer-
eised this yeay by ali the shippers SO far as has
bsen OBJ ervsd.
write, to call attention to the unripe oranges
which are being shipped from Southern Cali
petltion with the ripe product of Florida The
letter was written before the late freeze. put
the suggestions offered are applicable 70 any
conditions or seasonF, and should be taken 10
heart by clippers on this coast, who are zoo apt
10 think, IL the fruit looks well, that the con-
sumner will not detect tina difference III flavor
between 1t and the rpened product Writing
of this unripe fruit, this gentleman declares 1t
hat dome more to band everything Californi,
Continuing, ne writes: Two years ago Pitts
burg was flooded with half-sized seeding or
anges from packing company in Los Angeles
that were simply covered with scale and smut
They were no. worth SO cents a box, Last year
the color was better, SO far rs scale and smut
were concerned, but the oranges were sour
and small and Irregular in Size Re.
tailers who would use 10 TO l5 boxes day of
Florida fruit could sell many Califor
mans in month, and only at a loss
at any time. To try to persuade the ordinary
citizen that good oranges could be raised in
California would be hopeless ask" The for
warding of such fruit is certainly injurious to
the fruit interests of this state and the CORE
spondents criticisms are deserving of heed
from his letter it appears that Florida oranges
were selling at the time OF writing, December
% h, at from 20 cents to 80 cents Dozen
These were thlnskinned, in marked contrast
to the thick-skinned fruit of California for sale
1T the same time while their sweetness satisfied
buyers and caused them to buy again. One
experience with the California product was
enough to disgust the purchaser and prevent
sales later in the sason ghen better fruit would
be GU the market from this coast. The Union
has many times called attention to the injury
that is being done to California's reputation as
an orsnge-growing state by the attempt to COM
pete with Florida at the time when the south
ern product be sent forward fully ripe and
that of this state only in an unripe condition.
The letter of this Pittsburg gentleman confirms
the correctness OF the position assumed by this
paper. The practice should be abandoned of
selling any but the best fruit, and that at the
time when the flavor Is best and most likely to
give satisfaction