Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-05
FLORIDA ORANGE CROP.
How 100000 Boxes Are Picked,
Packed and Shipped.

: The effects of the famous freezo which
struck Florida about sixteen years ago
have at last been wiped out. At that time
the annual production of citrus fruit
had climbed from 100000 boxes in 1854
and 1885 to 100000 boxes In 1894 and
1893. Then the big freeze happened along
and the next seasons crop in Florida was
only $4,000 boxes.
The industry was practically wiped out.
But in the fifteen years since then the
yield has been slowly climbing again.
until for the season OF 1909 and 1910 il
was approximately 7.OO0.OOO boxes, of
which 100000 were shipped out of the
state.
Within the last two or three years the
Florida citrus exchange has been organ
lied, and 1t directs the packing and ship
ping Of large part of the crop. In the
great packing houses of Florida no hand
actually touches the oranges. Every per-
son who handles them wears white gloves
to protect the orange from any possible
contamination Of human touch and from
scratching and bruising by the finger
nail.
The pickers move into the grove with
their equipment Of ladders. baskets, field
boxes, clippers, etc. Each picker wears
his white gloves and carries a wicker
basket, shaped to fit the back or side of
the person. swung from the shoulder.
Each basket is lined with thick canvas
which is stretched four or five inches
from the bottom of the basket. Every
orange must be clipped, not pulled or
picked. from the tree, the stem being left
orange.
Each piece of fruit is laid, not dropped
into the basket. and when filed the bas-
ket is carefully emptied into the field
top. thus preventing the bruising of the
fruit when the boxes are stacked one on
another for carriage to the packing
house
They are taken to the plant on big plat
form wagons equipped with springs so
unevenness of roads. In the packing
house the fruit i'm the field boxes is put
on the first grading table, and from this
point to the packing boxes every person
that is below grade. for the motto Of the
exchange, Every doubtful orange is a
cull.'' stretches in big letters across one
end of the house where none can fail to
read it,
From the first table the fruit is carried
over wooden rollers down gentle incline
to the washing tank. Every orange re-
ceives a scrubbing before it is deemed fit
to be sent to a critical market, and Incl
dentally 1t is worth just about ~ per cent
pays
After the bath the oranges are assorted
according to size in bins. Beside the bins
stand the packers each. like the other
workers, wearing the ever present white
gloves Here each orange is rapidly
wrapped in it's square of white paper
with the stem of the orange under the
twist of the paper On the end OF each
box is stamped the size of the oranges
within, and when the box is filled il is
placed on an automatic carrier which de-
livers ii to the mailer.
Here a specially designed machine
presses down the end of the cover which
is nailed to the heads. but the middle is
left loose from the middle partition of
the box This is called the flush pack,
which is demanded by the best markets
in the north. From this point the boxes
are loaded into the waiting cars on the
switch track at the southern end of the
house. Each box is placed on end. six
boxes across the car and three boxes
high. These are then stripped or braced
in the car to prevent Earring and conse-
quent bruisng in transportation 10 the
markets. Three hundred boxes make a
ca rioad