Mexico Missouri message., 1916-04-06
RUSH HILL LADIES IN THE COL
DEN STATE.

Living on sunshine and climate, ex-
cept for few shcvt auto rides, until
March 18th, we started on
trip across the valley,
heading for Corona. We encounter
ed mud, and retraced our drive back
to Ganeha Park, at Pomona, where
we were ready for a good lunch, the
spread being in the open air, with
comforts of tables, benches, furnace
for heating any part of our lunch, or
for making coffee or tea, water being
had from hydrants on the Park
grounds. We then climbed the San
Jose Hill, from the top of which we
could overlook the valley for miles.
Looking down upon Pomona and the
surrounding orange and lemon
groves was a sight never to be for
gotten. We were up about 1900
feet above sea level Five o'clock
brought us home, having covered 81
miles. During the homeward drive
of 20 minutes we met 81 autos GO
ing in the opposite direction from us.
A visit thru some of the orange
and lemon packing houses. At Up
land Eight are located here. One,
the largest in California. The daily
capacity of the large house is 12 car
loads of 396 boxes each. Running at
present only abouS one-half capac-
ity. Oranges are received at the
rear of the packing house from team
sters, unloaded on trucks boxes
high, wheeled to the elevator where
the truck load is elevated z feet,
where an automatic machine takes
off the top box, slowly emptying the
oranges into a large tank of water,
where they are with slow moving re-
volving paddles moved along into a
series of brushes in a circular tank,
the oranges constantly being revolv-
ed between the brushes. When they
appear at the end of the brushes they
are clean. Now an elevator takes
them up two or three feet, drops
them into a rocker, the move
ment of which is similar the ones 40
or so years ago like we were rocked
in, from which they drop on number
of lengthwise rollers, these being spi-
rally wound with half-inch soft cot
ton rope, so that the orange is sub
iected to being dried from every
point. Again they are carried up into
an alright box, 80 inches by 80 or
so long, into which strong blast of
air from a high speed blower, is
blown, while the oranges are slowly
being carried thru the box, emerging
therefrom onto a 16 inch wide can
vas belt, which carries them along,
past 3, 4 to men or women who
sort them as to quality. From the end
of this belt they drop onto an auto
matte self registering weigher, from
which they roll on the "sizer". This
consists principally of 80 foot straight
tapering rollers, so that the oranges
move towards the farther end, the
rollers get thinner, the openings lar
ger, consequently the smaller oranges
drop out earlier in the race, thus they
continue until jumbo finds the open
ing large enough to let him thru.
They drop into boxes for the various
sizes, where the swift right hand
picks them up, throws them into the
left hand which has in it wrapper,
twirl, twist, and into the box ii
goes to be followed by neighbors till
the box is full, when the packer with
a rubber stamp marks the box-num'
ber, kind, number of packer, into
the top of the box, the box-nailer pig
eonholes, when it arrives at his stand
Boxes are SO trucked that they can
not crush and so that air can circu
late all about.
The packing is done by young mel
and women, experts.
Lemons have a similar treatmen
except that they are picked or Gu
thruout the year, when they arriv