The sun., 1907-04-14
CALIFORNIA; GOLDEN CRoP.
Millions Of Dollars From yellow Fruit
Packing Oranges.

PACKING OrAn9eS.
The State Of California secures an annual
income from its orchards OF more than SS5,-
900. 900. 1t produces more than one-haf OF
the country's peach crop. third OF the
pear crop and seven-eighths OF what are
termed subtropical fruits.
IL supplies practically all OF the prunes,
apricots lemons. figs and the bulk Of the
oranges grown in America Put into
figures. this means 1TS.OOO tons OF prunes
alone, 1000 900 boxes Of lemons, nearly
5000 tons OF olives. 5000 tons Of figs.
2.SOO. 900 bushels OF peaches and 10000 tons
Of walnuts and almonds.
As IS per cent Of the oranges and lemons
raised in the State are distributed through
the fruit associations at Los Angeles, the
business done at this centre. says MOOdy's
Mdod2ine will give an idea Of the industry
in southern California.
Ii aggregates $1,000 cars with a value
Of S17COO,O0o. An average OF 5000 car
loads Of fruit OF all kinds have been sent
daily during the shipping season out OF
the thirteen counties Of which Los Angeles
is the selling centre.
In Fresno county. where 80 per cent. OF
the raisns cured in California are produced
fully 5O.OOO tons viii be the record for
1905, the revenue from this fruit aggre-
eating fully -. .O0O, 900. Thirty years ago not
more than q. 900 orange trees were IN bearing
in the 500 miles of fruit belt stretching
from the foothills OF Mount Shasta south
to San Diego,
The orchards at the present time cover
more than rs 900 acres. nearly all OF them be-
ing the seedless variety, raised fromtw little
shoots which were planted at Riverside
in 1873.
The area containing the great orchards OF
| California consists principally OF the Sacra-
mento and San joaquin valleys, with what
! is locally termed the Los Angeles country,
comprising the five counties Of southern
California.
While irrigation s needed for a large
proportion OF the orchards in southern
California. the yield in an average year
is so large and the financial returns so
great that many Of the companies who
control the larger orchards could sell them
at a price averaging 81 500 an acre, although
this land prior to irrigation was not worth
S. an acre.
$500, 900 in a single fruit ranch Is not un;
common, although there are many small
individual growers who are prospering,
since through their membership in one OF
/ the associations they are enabled to sell
their harvests TO an great advantage as tneir
larger competitors.
Although oranges will ripen in California
nearly every month Of the year, the harvest
season is usually from November 10
June 1. AS fast as a wagon load Is
picked it is sent to the packing house.
There the boxes are credited to the grower,
then prepared for market.
Here the oranges are dumped into long
narrow tank, filed with water, at one end
Of which is a big wheel with tire OF soft
bristIes. As the wheel revolves the brush
works in connection with another set OF
brushes in a smaller tank underneath, and
the oranges, after bobbing about in the big
tank pass between the wet brushes and
come out bright and clean.
AZ some OF the packing houses the old
method Of hand washing 10 still in use,
and groups Of women each with brush
and a tub Of water stand under an awning
and scrub busily. After the bath the
oranges are spread upon long, slanting racks
to dry in the sun, and from the lower END
they roll into the boxes and are carried
into the shade Of the warehouse to cure.
After the hours Of curing they are fed
into a hopper which drops them single file
into a belt that runs between revolving
and shiny, and are carried in belt elevator
to the sorting table, where they are graded
into fancy, choice and standard. The
grades are determined by the size and
appearance. Amy blemish places the fruit
among the culls.
This sorting table 'inclines slightly, and
the dividing stream passes in two hles
upon narrow tracks Of moving ropes, which
diverge gradually. The smallest oranges
fall through first, the larger slzee further
on, grading themselves and falling into
their proper bins.
There are a dozen sizes, from the small
ones that run $50 to a box, to fruit that
cannot be spanned with both hands and
are subject to discount from the market
price as of sized
Oranges are very tender and must be
handled with great care. Finger nails
are kept short. lest slight bruise be made
on the skin in handling; and wherever an
orange drops even an inch or two spouts,
bins and tables are padded. Usually the
warehouse ia on a siding or on the direct
line Of railway. 30 that the boxes can be
loaded into the cars from the building
without loss Of time. A carload il from
400 to 500 boxes.