The herald., 1897-12-29
orange, unless 1t were very badly froz-
en- or had been frozen long enough for it's
Juices to have evaporated.

orange, unless II were very Dauly ITOZ-
en- or had been frozen long enough for its
juices to have evaporated.
There Is no question but that some
damage has been done the orange crop
by the late cold spell, and every one
knows that the full extent of that dam
age is yet Understandable. The weather
bureau, which has received from all Sec
tions Of Southern California special re-
ports of the damage done citrus fruits,
says so; the horticultural commission,
whose special duty 1t is to watch such
matters, says so, and now and then an
orange grower or shipper let's slip sug-
gestiOn of the truth.
How are you going to tell frozen
from unfrozen oranges?" who is to
be the judge, and how is he to tell?" have
been the answers Of every argument for
decisive action against shipments Of
frosted fruit. The Growers and Ship
pers association and the Southern Cali
fornia fruit exchange meet today. Rep
resentatives of both have said they
would consider the matter fully and that
they were emphatically in favor Of doing
all in their power to prevent shipments
of frozen oranges.
shippers in regard to distinguishing be-
tween frozen and unfrozen fruit any one
in the business knows that when car
of fruit is shipped every handler of the
fruit in it knows whether 1t is frozen or
not. Their expertness in this is too COM
monty known for comment. 1t is the
boast of the fruit exchange, which
handles a quarter to third of the crop,
that every member Is bound to all the
others by agreement not to ship frozen
fruit, and it is said that a member hav-
ing thirty or forty cars left the exchange
because it wouldn't ship his frozen fruit
Yet to the request for universal agree
ment of growers and shippers the men,
bers and officers of the exchange plead
inability to distinguish between frozen
and good fruit and do not explain wheth-
er an injustice was done the member
whose shipments were refused by them
or how they are able to keep the agree
ment among themselves not to ship
frozen fruit.
The discovery OF an absolute and indis-
putable test by which frosted fruit could
be readily and cheaply detected and sep
arated from unfrosted fruit Is a final
answer to this insincere argument for
lack of action, although 1t may accom-
plish nothing in bringing that action
about.
1t costs about so cents an hour to run
an x-ray machine, and with bins and
runways constructed so that each Or
ange might pass down between the
Crookes tube and the horoscope, several
thousands of oranges could be candled
in an hour-probably 5000 or 6000-and the
frosted and unfrosted ones separated as
quickly as they can be sorted to size, or
more quickly than eggs can be "candled." !"
When 1t Is remembered that throughout
the eastern market eggs generally sell
for only third or half what oranges
bring, and yet eggs can stand the cost
of "candling," where each egg must be
lifted and set down by hand. the cost Of
"candling" oranges by the X-ray ap-
pears unobjectionable.
1t Is not necessary for every orange
tree or every orchard to have an X-ray
apparatus any more than 1t Is neces-
sary to buy one for each hen to deter
mine her fertility or the condition OF her
product. An X-ray apparatus costs
about $400, and a large packing house
cauld afford one and make big money on
its x-rayed brand.
There is one thing certain-there are
eastern commission houses which may
find they cannot afford to be without
them any more than to do 'vithout their
egg -candling department. An x-ray
test might be OF great value in settling
disputes as to the quality Of oranges re-
ceived. whether good, green or frozen.