The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1914-03-20

the vast groves which today supply
four-fifths of the oranges consumed
in tho United States, and are tho
oranges most in demand in the Lon
don market against II world of COM
p%etitors.
lives in a. heaven. His bungalow is
low. OH inviting, with q. wide
porch--bnt You can see the bunSa-
low for vines, nor tn" vines for roses.
And o can't see II dooryard for
palms and geraI1iums and poinscttias.
and [ don't know what beside. sit
on The porch and see near and vet
far away A. barricade of mountains
standing out clear and sharp against
the intense blue sky. One of the
mountains Wears \. white blanket of
eternal snow dropped over his pin
nacled head. Nearer are ths foothills,
Ereyish brown with c%haparral or
green with eucalyptus. Then close to
me, almost entering, tho dooryard arc
tho orange trees whose low sweeping
branches enclosing within an almost
solid wall OF foliage their short stubby
trunks.
The perfect orans tree looks like
= llxuriant fountain of green leaves
white blossoms and golden fruit.
Tho branches sweep the ground, so
that men and teams never pass under
tho trees, but all the work of gather
ms the fruit is done from stepladdcrs
placed hrtwcen tho trees. No one can
have fond memories Of having climbed
into the branches Of an oranse tree
for it would he almost impossible to
do SO.
Between the trees tho ground is
constantly cultivated and kept clean
aud mellow as this prevents tho top
of The soil from hardening aud re-
tards the loss of moiaturc by evapor-
alton.
I expected aud was disappointed
that Ibid not find green tender grass
beneath the orange trees-ss I al
ways had pictured ripe oranges lying
about on the green sWsrd. just as ap-
Pies do In the old arm orchards back
in Ohio. But they don't shake
down oranges here in California
no more than We do w5termelons. An
orange is handled as previously as the
egg Of a bird of paradise. for it's price
in tho market of Chicago or New
York Is influenced by tho least
scratch. SO delicate is the skin of a
growing orange. that even a. leaf
blowing back and forth touching it
leaves q minute scar which lowers
the value of that orange IN the mar
ket.
Picking oranges is q profession
almost Al art. And the man who
goes forth for this purpose is gotten
up in such q cleanly and pren1editated
q. anner that a young miss on her
way TO q unrer morning Sunday
school. Is not moro spotless and i'm
maculate.
l hung around the edges and
watched n picker. a. star. and used
all the diplomacy I had been born
with or had acquired during a long
and desperate life. to get him to talk.
He was shy at first. 40 I led him on
ny asking about the shining clippers
n a he used to snip the orange from
the branch. An orange is v
broken or torn from it's stem. for the
slightest abrasion Of the skin is fol
lowed by decay. 1t must be gently
cut. without injury to the skin-"and
thereby hangs a. tale" too. fol-. no
piece of stem must be left on the
packed in the boxes the stem would
bruise the orange lying next to it,
yet. It shipped to close or carelessly
cut. h kin OF the orange is clipper
cut and is subject to decay, and the
picker. is held responsible. When I
saw that the picker wore gloves
clean pair Zach day. by the wayGi
wondered. how he could clip those
tough little stems so close and vet 20
accurately. For I had Deem told that
frequently weeks passed that an ex-
pert PICKER never turned in an orange
clipper cut"
AS he III each orange from it's
stem, he gently placed it into a clean
canvas sack that hung over his Shout
der. The precious golden oranges
and lemons of California are not
cropped and dumped and treated as
the average Ohio farmer treats his
apple crop. Handle oranges like eggs
Is the law Of overy orange grove. An
orange grower Is a perfect gentleman
until some is careless about nan.
ding his golden fruit and then the
pTimeval man bursts through the Gull
ture OF centuries and compels obedi-
ence.
As I followed Jim Deacon. expert
picker. he began to realize that I was
not following him around with the
purpose Of keeping tab" on him
but was simply an inquisitive but
harmless newspaper man. suffering
tack Of Californiatis. he thawed ont
and told me many things.
He has been in California for 10
1 vonrR fsarnA Frnr1