The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1911-11-17
BEST ORANGES
SINCE FREEZE
CROPS SOMEWHAT 0vERESTI.
MATED, BUT QUALITY
UNSURPASSED.

three ways Of estimating the citrus
crop in any year." says W. c. Temple
OF the Citrus Exchange First, in
December estimating the coming
years crop by the amount Of bearing
wood in the groves. Secondly. by
estimating the fruit on the trees at
the different stages of development
Of the fruit. This second method Is
usually subdivided In three stages.
Once in June or July when all the
various spring and summer blossom
ines have set. again In September
when the fruit has arrived at a suf-
ficient size to closely estimate the
sizes at which the fruit will run;
and lastly. In November, when a suf.
ficient amount of groves have been
picked to check against the estimates
on those particular groves the actual
results in fruit picked.
Thirdly. the estimate made after
the entire crop is shipped, which is
the only truly accurate one and the
one in which most of the guessers
plum themselves on their judgment.
THE estimates made last Dccem-
ber on the amount of bearing wood
In the Florida groves tended to show
that barring setbacks Florida would
ship for her 1911? crop thirty
thousand ears Of citrus fruits and
under normal conditions Of weather
this estimate would have been very
close. The late frOsts of February
%. in conjunction with the very
early bloom In connection with the
total rainfall of only a little over an
inch for the three months Of Jan
uary. February and March. howe
ever. almost entirely destroyed the
brilliant prospects from the first
bloom
"The estimates made In June and
July tended to show that the crop
was apparently between five and six
million boxes for the year. The Sep
tember examination and reports went
Q l,.s al
timatcs had been entirely too high
and a revised estimate based on the
September examination showed the
crop would not exceed from four TO
four and n half million boxes. all
told, for the season IN November.
when the cheek estimates were pOsSi-
bic from the fact that many groves
were entirely stripped and the results
could be compared with the esti-
mates. the estimates tend to show
that a further revision Is necessary
at none Of the groves picked as much
fruit as were estimated by about one
third. which would make il appear
at the present time that the total
Florida crop of oranges and grape
fruit for the season billie is only
from three TO three and a half mil
lion boxes. The fruit however,
both oranges and grapefruit. is of the
finest quality, flavor and juiciness
that the state has ever produced
since the big freeze. Nearly one
half of the entire crop is not of the
first bloom. but of later blooms,
which should not be shipped until
after the holidays. so there will not
b. available for the Thanksgiving
and holiday trade this year to exceed
a million and three-quarters 10 two
million boxes. as against nearly three
million boxes last year. and four mil
lion boxes the preceding year. There
fore. people who have oranges to sell
should bear this extreme shortage
in mind and not be in hurry to LET
their fruit go at any old price.
Some of the irresponsible dealers
who have obtained their fruit some
where and by some means, known
best to themselves, are today selling
oranges at a dollar five, T. o. b. pack
ing house for fruit that the exchange
is readily receiving from 81 to $2-25
?. o. b. packing house. The big Op-
rators, however, are getting In