The herald., 1898-11-24
ORANGE PROSPECTS
WHAT THE PRICE WILL BE FOR
A STARTER
Effects of the Weather to Be Taken
Into Consideration for the
Coming Season

lug Vi tHc prize OI oranges IOT tHe opening VI
the winter season has been a puzzling prob
lem. The shippers and packers of High
land have been in controversy with those OF
Redlands, and while the growers wished to
start in with IS rate for best navels, they
were Shaved down to $500 for fancy
navels, with $l.60 for seedlings. Consider
ing that there is not much more than half a
crop this year, and that in consequence OF
the scarcity of water, the fruit will not aver
age as large as usual, this is anything but
victory for the growers, who, as usual, have
let the non-producers fix the rate. These
prices are to rule for three weeks, and then
the attempt will be made by the packers to
lower it to the $2 rate for fancy navels and 81
for seedlings. 1t has been noted that the
oranges this year are sweet earlier than
usual. This is attributed to the hot sum-
mer, but it is more directly traceable to the
small supply of water giving, the sugar of the
fruit less dilution.
Riverside is shipping old fruit of the Late
Valencia and Late Tardif varieties for their
holiday trade, having been able to secure
good, solid fruit for shipment every week
during the last twelve months by means of
these late varieties, and thus avoiding the
shipment OF green fruit to supply the early
demand. This is a custom that should be
more advantageously followed than it is, and
make perpetual market for the whole year.
The weather is an alarming factor in the
growing of oranges, as well as other fruits
The continual recurrence of cold waves
every winter of late is not pleasant to con
template, and when it is supplemented with
a light rainfall the prospects are gloomy for
the orange grower. There have been thus
far this season but .0S of an inch of rainfall,
and that was mostly a condensation of a
heavy fog. In looking over the record for
the past thirty years it is seen that in only
two cases when the early rainfall was missing
has there been even an average amount for
the whole season, but it has been dry
year" and the prospects are 10 to that this
will also be a season of light rainfall. The
unexpected sometimes happens, and this
may be one of those occasions, and plentiful
rainfall still come down, but the chances are
largely against it.
Then there is the inevitable FROST There
have already been seven DAYS this month
when the mercury dropped below the freez
ing point, the coldest of which was yester-
day morning, when the minimum was 26,
and this morning at 81. Yesterday morning
"a leaking faucet built up a column of ice
nearly two feet in height and fringed shelf
under it with cicles foot long Although
the oranges were still tender, there was ap-
parently but little damage. as quite breeze
was coming off the mountains all night on
both occasions. The heaviest breeze ever
in Riverside, for the damage to oranges, was
on November 6, 1896, when the thermometer
went down to p degrees after six days
norther, coming down the length of the
coast as far as the telegraph reached Whole
carloads of oranges were shipped to the east
that season, not one of which could be sold.
The prospects for this season are "dry and
cold" but sometimes all signs will fail, and
it is to be hoped that they will this year.
LEGAL LOTTERY
Frank Gerry today filed a mechanics lien
on the residence of II. w. jackson for $50
due him for carpenter work. The court al
lowed him $69.S9.
NJ. Ii. Kilgore of San Francisco brought
suit against Sabna Riggs ct al. for foreclos-
ure on a note, winning the case, together
with $50 attorneys fee.
Louise Ornaver claims she was married TO
Jacob c. Ornaver in March, 1891, at New
York, and that the following year Jacob de-
serted her at Baltimore, and she asks for
divorce.
A marriage license was issued to Albert
Pool Yerington, a native of Ohio, aged 80,
and Lillian M. Norton, native of Iowa,
both of Redlands, the groom being assistant
agent at the Southern Pacific depot The
wedding will take place Thanksgiving day,
and the bridal couple will start for San
Francisco on their wedding tour.
There have been over fifty certificates OF
election expense filed with the recorder up
to date.
Public Administrator John Taylor has
filed letters on the estate of Jennie Bryant,
who died November Is, 1893, the estate CON
sisting of 1887 in cash and $25 in household
furniture.
The Wells, Fargo detective, j. B. Hume
and Santa Fe Detective j. G. King left today
for the scene of the late hold-up near Dag
gett.