The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-05-28
OF INTEREST
TO GROWERS
interesting Letter From W. B.
Gray on California Methods
ORANGE GROWERS MEET
Convention to be Held In Tampa June I
Delegates to California Meet May 81
Reduced Rates on Railroads Given


The Florida Orange Growers who
went on the recent trip to California
have all returned and are much i'm
pressed with their visit They are now
preparing for the meeting which will
be held in Tampa, Fla, June /. The
delegates of the association who visited
California will meet in Tampa on Mon
day, May 81, to shape their reports to
be delivered to the convention the fol-
lowing day.
The Atlantic Coast Line and the Sea-
board Air Line are advertising rates of
one fare plus rs cents for the round
trip from all points in Florida.
Mr.. Walter B. Gray, of Lake Weir,
who was on the trip to California,
gives his views in the following ar
ticle, which appeared recently in the
Tampa Times:
Mr.. Gray, when seen, spoke very in
terestingly on the several matters in
connection with the orange growing in
dustry, which had been brought to his
attention during his absence and COR
rotated the statements of those of the
party who reached home before him as
to the whole secret Of CALIFORNIA; sue
cess laying in the handling of the fruit
after it is grown.
The California orange grower is
practically limited in the varieties
which he can grow to the Valencias and
the Washington navels and were per-
fectly willing to concede that Florida
had them beaten not only in growing
grapefruit, but also in the production
of tangernes.
According to Mr.. Gray, if the Cali
fornia crop, which will this year
amount to IS, 0OO carloads, was shipped
in the haphazard way which character
ICES most of the shipments of Florida
fruits, the growers there would simply
get nothing for their product and he
further stated that prior to the forma-
ton of the California exchange the
growers there were in much worse
condition than had ever been the case
in this state.
He pointed out that taking into con-
sideration the distance of the respec-
tive hauls the Californians, through
their exchange, had much better
freight rate than Floridians. The
blanket rate from California points to
all Mississippi river points is SO cents
as compared with 60 cents from Lake
Weir. the extra cost of icing bringing
the transportation charges up to 81. O2.
The great advantage. though, that
they have is that if the agent of the
exchange at st. Louis or wherever the
car is originally shipped, finds that the
al, 10 too ,l pr1ar hn
forwarded to any point which he may
name on the trunk lines of the country
and it will be moved free of charge.
The headquarters Of the exchange is
located at Los Angeles, where full
staff of Office employees is engaged, in
addition to which paid agents are kept
in all the big cities to handle the fruit
As it reaches it's destination.
SO complete is the system of this
main exchange that a full report is
made every evening of the conditions
in all the markets of the country and
the position of every carload of fruit,
which information is disseminated to
the growers by means of the branch
exchange next morning.
In spite of the expenses of keeping
pdlu dSeUtS az all idlSe uldThcIS, ali
annual expense of $50, 600 for telegraph
and $40, 600 for teleghone tolls, the sell
ing of box of California oranges is
for cents in COMPARE
sou with the 10 per cent on the gross
srice paid by the Florida grower.
Mr.. Gray was greatly impressed with
The packing houses, which are in use in
hat state, the majority of which cost
from $l0, 900 to SIS, 900 apiece. The fruit
S practically handled entirely by machin-
cry from the time it enters these
houses until it 10 ready for shipment, the
majority of the packers being women,
and even the boxes are made by machin-
cry. BY this means the Californian packs
his fruit for much less cost than is the
Ease here and it is to the systematic
methods of the exchange, coupled with
he use of every possible labor saving
levice that Mr.. Gray attributes the sue
less which has lately attended their eff
forts.
In conclusion it may be stated that
Mr.. Gray was somewhat surprised to
ind that the orange grower of Cali
'ornia is regarded as the money man
If that section, occupying the same po-
'ition as the business man in other
places. the prices of their property be-
ng regarded as that of the wheat farms
If the western states"