The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-05-09

gained 8 very strong f0othold here, ana the damage done by its ravages can hardly be estimated. Relief came how
 ever, by the introduction of a minute
 lady bird called vedalia cardinals,
 which in less than year entirely freed the orchards of California of the pest. Scale insect enemies of citrus trees are
 generally directly controlled in two ways: by spraying the infested plants with some liquid insecticide, or by sub Ijecting them to the fumes of hydrocyan- lie acid gas, commonly designated as "gassing." The latter method consists in inclosing tree at night with a tent | and filling the latter with the poisonous fumes generated by treating potassium cyanide with sulphuric acid and water. The treatment should be continued from thirty to forty minutes. the longer time being preferable The work is done at might to avoid the scalding which fol- lows day applications, at least in bright. sunlight. Among other annoyances with which the grower has to contend may be mentioned gophers and jack rabbits, These animals have caused the death of many trees. The former living
 under ground and attacking the tree at l the roots, while the latter girdles the
 bark. There is probably no one feature
 which causes so much uneasiness as the danger from frost in localities subject
 to these conditions. It may be here stated that Redlands is specially fortu-
 nate in it's peculiar location, as the near
 by high mountains and general eleva- ,,tion Of land affords much protection l from frost and winds. There are many
 methods used to prevent destruction of trees by frost, chief among which is by | the use of smudge fires, which consist of
 burning throughout the orchard at
 stated distances tarry matter, or more generally damp straw, which not only Icreates dense smoke, but aids by pro-
 ducing a considerable amount of evap-
 orated water, which serves to retard
 the radiation of heat. At Riverside one orchard has been covered with lcanopy made of lattice work. This
 method, it will be seen, necessitates great expense, costing, as it does, about four hundred and fifty dollars per acre. Owing to the reason just given it is very doubtful if it comes into general use.
 Some years great loss is ,occasioned by what is called ''puffing" In this condi- tion the peel of an orange seems to be. elevated and roughened. Oranges
 called "splits' are unfit for shipment, 1 and the term used explains the reason
 of their rejection. Thousands and
 thousands of oranges of the above two
 classes, together with those carrying
 any other imperfections, such as thorn
 pricked or irregularities in shape, are
 designated as 'culls'' and are thrown
 away. One may observe many pecu- lnarities or freaks in oranges, such as
 having one-quarter of the peel that of
 a lemon or grapefruit, also double orr anges. Upon arrival at the packing house each growers fruit is carefully
 weighed and generally allowed to stand
 a short time, whereas if packed fresh
 from the trees it will heat and sweat at ordinary temperature and the entire
 contents become damp and be in great
 danger of decay. Packing oranges has
 almost been reduced to fine art. The standard box is Ii 1-2x11 1-2x2s inches,
 with a partition in the middle. Oranges
 are classified as fancy" and stchoice'' in respect to quality and appearance,
 and are graded according to the follow ling sizes: 96, 112,12S, 150, 176. 200, 216. and 250; these figures representing the
 number of oranges in a packed box.
 There are oranges designated by larger and smaller numbers than these given,
 but they are not the most popular sizes.
 The machine or grader through which
 the fruit passes has greatly reduced the
 time and labor required in previous
 years. As the oranges start on their journey they are carefully inspected;
 any inferior fruit is removed and con-
 signed to receptacle into which all
 culls eventually find their way. Or
 anges that have passed this critical ex-
 animation leave the sorting table and are carried through revolving brushes,
 which not only remove the dust, but at the same time imparts a certain bright lness to the peel. An endless belt or chain carries the fruit forward on an elevated platform until it reaches an aperture corresponding to it's diameter through which it falls into it's respective
 bin. Girls are employed to pack the fruit. which consist of wrapping each
 orange in tissue paper and placing them lin boxes. so that each shall contain the number of oranges indicated by the
 stamn on the outside. Packing alter lnatelv. so that each orange comes over