The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-07-29
CITRUS FRUITS
INPORTO RICO
wpII Known East Coast Citizen
Writes of Ills Experience
NOT FlORIDA'S EQUAL
while Fruit is Inferior They Net More on
Account of Uniform Handing and
Cheaper Freight Rates


Cornelius Christiancy, formerly of Port
orange now manager of the La lisa
beiia groves at Ponce, Porto Rico, for
The Florida Fruit and Produce News:
nIwill enclose samples of the posters
We use, also the sticker we use on our
grapefruit, applying same with hot
clue to the fruit.
La Isabella Grapefruit led the market
This spring, selling as high as S7.S7 per
hoY and our average on the crop Of
iIOOO boxes was away ahead of any
thing i have noticed any Florida grow
er doing.
"When | lived on the East Coast
nv home is still there and | will be
back again Il used to tell the growers
that If the freights were reduced that
We growers would not get any more
money for our fruit, as it would simply
sell for little less money. figured
that there was always enough fruit
bought by spectators who would add
their box profit, freight, and other
charges, and then make the market
price.
"When our fruit sells in New York
for 81 90 per box it nets US 49, 40 per
box here at the dock, and if it happens
Dgo up on the Red ID. Line it nets US
Just 5 cents per box more. Think of
having water competition?
"The freight on 500 boxes of grape
fruit and oranges over the N. Y & P.
Line is $l31 rs and over the competing
line It is S9l. IS. The freight from my
home town in Florida to New Yoft on
Nboxes would be s345 90. WhtNgets
the difference? Well, guess / know
now that the growers get it. shipped
oranges from here and they sold for
less money than my Florida oranges
sod for at the same time and the Porto
Rico oranges netted the most money
to- b.
THE Florida orange and grapefruit
y 90 far ahead of anything else produc.
ed in the world that there is no use of
comparing Porto Rican citrus fruit with
that of Florida, but the Porto Rican
article coming into competition with
California finds a steady trade. because
It is juicy and sweet.
THE Porto Rican grapefruit will I'M
questionably bring high prices because
the'trees bloom late here:-the heaviest
bloom is in June and July, and that
makes it ship late in the spring. and
coming into competition at that time
with the Florida fruit it will bring more
money, because it is jucier, heavier
fMlt. 1t is interesting to note that
while La Isabella grapefruit was top
ping the market that other Porto Rlcan
grapefruit was selling for 81 90 to 1926
per box. The reason was in The pack
and the style of the package.
They have another advantage here
over Florida and that is the cost of
noor Our best labor at 60 cents per
uay will do more work in the 10 hours
lney put in for day than any Florida
negro ever paid .$l.5O for 8 hours
~ DO not consider the fact that this
lsand Is free from frost any advantage
Msll 80 far as the production OF citrus
Iiu'ts is concerned. After residence
|Ssmany years in both California and
t,lo.r'da, and year in studying the con
|S'eons here, am more convinced to
|ay than ever before in my life that the
@est citrus /. fruits raised in Florida
|ue Just as close to the frost line as
|yeu dare to get.
80 much for quality, but when 1t
?Hes right down to profit, why TINS
sfd has US skinned block and
20 some.
An orchard IL a green fruit factory
no matter how much pleasure we
y out of growing fruit we have got
%ake the business pay, or else IL
y y . business but a plaything. :. =,
|..3 was at the Tampa convention OF
ers in June. 1909, and 1t seemed
xe That everyone Whs bent on damn
ne commission man. | believed IN
1nization, and had. been trying to
elze local packing house for years
y fcr purpose.
z wanted every orange that lett my
place to 60 out under one bran1 or
~ brands of uniform pack.
i wanted it all picked and packed
~ tne greatest care, and everything
slpIe done to make the man who got
y at the other end come back ana
~. for more.
ane secret in getting good prices
yopr fruits is in having enough OF
yer you have packed it right ana
repeater of it, The Florida
Exchange had a fine selling. or,
ation, and If they had only nae
hne packing organization behlno
tney would have made a glorious
Whose fault is it? The man
the box.
tsed to be said years ago that
lesman was one who could sell
fvomething he did not want.
good salesman Of today is the