The Florida agriculturist., 1905-12-06
CALIFORNIA; Orange Season Closed.


the orange industry, in California,
published i'm the last number of the
American Agriculturist.
The citrus fruit shipping season in
California of 1904-5 is now at an end
with a record of some 10000 carloads |
of fruit of which 4160 cars were lem |
ons. This is the heaviest shipping sea- |
son i'm the history of the citrus indus
try i'm the state and shows that 1t is
steadfastly growing in spite of the out
cry of over-prOductiOn which has been
raised by the older growers for years
past. Illustrating the growth of this
branch of fruit growing in California
| may state that shipments in 1901
were but 4,016 cars, and that even
then there was a great complaint OF
Over-prOduction. 1t is interesting to
note that railroads now estimate the
probable output of California oranges
| for the new season of 1866 at $4,000
cars.
The orange season is supposed to
end with the last of October, and the 1
new season to open with the first of
November, but this is an arbitrary di-
vision as the season is really con-
tinuous. and some shipments are now
being made all the time, their extent
being regulated by the demands of the
eastern market In the summer sea-
son. when markets are well supplied
with fresh fruit there is naturally a
smaller demand for citrus fruit and
shipments decrease, the great bulk of
the crop being moved between JAN
uary 1 and June 1. There are three
principal varieties grown; the Navel,
which is far and away the best of all
oranges, the Mediterranean Sweet,
which comes on later i'm the season,
and the Valencia Late, which as its
name implies, is the late fruit, con-
tinuing the season until the Navel is
ready for shipment again.
ORANGE LANDS ALMOST BOUND
| LESS.
/ There is practically no limit to the
orange lands of California; the fruit
grows from the extreme southern
boundary of the state to the northern
limit of the Sacramento valley, a
range of over 600 miles north and
SOUTH The earliest fruit is produced
in northern California, and the first
shipments of new fruit for the present
year have been made from Rocklin,
in Placer county, a consignment of full
Iy ripened Navels having left there
October 16.
/ The northern fruit ripens earlier for
the reason that there is less variation
in the temperature between day and
night than in the more southern
orange sections. The great interior
valleys of California are entirely sur
rounded by mountains, being bounded
on the east by the Sierra Nevada and
on the west by the coast ranges. The
coast range shuts off the cooling ocean
breezes and the nights are less chilling
than in the southern portion of the
Estate, where there is marked differ
ence in the temperature of day and
night. Nevertheless the great bulk of
the orange crop of California is grown
in the southern counties and this
reaches the market at the time when
the demand is most active, for while
holiday fruit always brings good
prices, the best demand comes later
in the season.
i TREES WILL STAND COLD.
i Many fabulous stories are told about
the profits in orange growing. While
there are instances in which enormous
returns have been realized, these are
exceptional, as for instance a case in
my own knowledge where a small or