Factors governing the successful shipment of oranges from Florida

Front matter

y

DDDDTIVVSDS

BULLETIN

Introduction

"he citrus-fruit industry of Florida is preeminently first among the agricultural and aness interests of the State. According to the figures of the last UnLTstates sus there were 3,864,514 orange trees in the State in the spring of 1910, 2,766 6 8 o *> being of bearing age and 1,097,896 nonbearing. The yield of the 1909 orale . », a. given by he census of 1910, was 4,852,967 boxes, valued at $4,304,987. From

oTlfT^^t Uab T the PreSeDt ***>' th " dtrUB *' ro P of P1 ° ri ^ during Z

X 5 769 o"-9 boT 1 " -/" 28 ' 428 Carl ° adS ' ° r 8 ' 125 ' 465 Ws > of - Mci a PP-xi- Blj 5,769 079 boxes, or /lpercent, were oranges; approximately 2,031 367 boxes

3 per cent, were grapefruit; the balance, of app,„xinu, t ,ly 325,0^9 box^ or 4 pe^

.ring the winter of 1894-95 there occurred in Florida two very severe freezes which

ight great havoc in the groves of the State and permanently chanted Z oW t , le citrus industry. Present conditions date from that selson to a ^xt exte f

ffding to Hume ■ there were 5,055,367 boxes in the crop of T 8 93 94 J*£ 1l I ie following year would doubtless have reached 6 OOo'oo 1 oxe ' w££

*mperatures, interspersed with periods of warm, growing i nTveS^

LOCATION OF THE FLORIDA CITRUS INDUSTRY.

O™ t0 the , M 626 °t 1895 the CitniS ind ™*y of FlOTida was largely centered in !^I^^°^sert^^ became discouraged and i-'l Nury to the fruit! materially lessened by greater care and the avoidance of

a figures were furnished by the Florida Citrus Exchange

re, II. Harold. Citrus Fruits and Then Culture. Jacksonville Fla

> .graph

VA either went north to engage in other enterprises or sought locations for their new groves farther south, where conditions were considered safer. Since many of the older groves have been reestablished, the industry has become widely scattered over the State. Plantings now extend in a narrow fringe along the east coast, from St. John County on the north to below Miami, in Dade County, and along the west or Gulf coast they reach from Citrus County almost to the southern boundary of Lee County. Extensive plantings extend diagonally across the State from Volusia County on the east to Hillsboro, Manatee, De Soto, and Lee Counties on the west, including large sections of Brevard, Orange, Lake, Sumter, Hernando, Pasco, and Polk Counties, in addition to those already mentioned. Sections in Marion, Alachua, Citrus, and Osceola Counties also are devoted to citrus fruits. Figure 1 shows a map of the State with the location of the

citrus plantings indicated

1 1 ^ .wAKuLLAliy J. \ I o J 1 Jl_ I TV by shading.

The difficulties of handling and marketing crops of fruit produced in groves scattered over so wide a territory are manifestly greater than where the plantations are confined to a more restricted territory. Where groves are located comparatively close together, as was the case in many of the older citrus districts of Florida, a neighborhood competition is stimulated, especially in the production of clean, bright fruit of fine texture. There has probably never been a region where so many varieties of oranges have been developed and tested as in what, before the freeze, were the old neighborhood centers of production, or where more strenuous efforts have been made to produce fruit of fine texture and flavor. Moreover, a special effort was made to pack the fruit in an attractive manner and to have it reach the market without decay. At present, with the groves so widely scattered throughout the State, there is much less personal contact between growers, and the old neighborhood competition in the production of fancy fruit has largely disappeared. Although the industry has become better organized during the last few years, it is extremely difficult to make effective any association which represents so many diverse interests and whose members are so widely scattered. This situation has proved a great barrier to the introduction of better handling and marketing methods.

HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CITRUS INDUSTRY.

It is believed that the orange was originally introduced into Florida by the Spaniards, who imported a few sour oranges and gave some of the fruits to the Indians. The seeds of these fruits, being distributed from village to village and finding congenial

J

-Map of Florida, with the location of the principal citrus plantings indicated by shading.

ud favorable climatic conditions in the hardwood forests and live-oak groves, i the tall native growth protected them from sun and radiation, grew up into seedling trees, and in time formed wild groves of immense extent throughout the northern and central parts of peninsular Florida. 1 Although sweet oranges were known in Florida before the Civil War, they were not considered of commercial importance because of the absence of transportation facilities. Commercial orange culture dates back to between 1865 and 1870, when the success of the trees along the banks of the St. Johns River began to attract attention to this industry as a good investment. As the profits were large from the first, many were thereby induced to engage in the business, and the industry gradually expanded until in 1895 the production had reached nearly 6,000,000 boxes.

Transportation problems and market conditions have changed considerably since Florida reached its highest point in citrus production before the freeze. First of all, the citrus industry of California has been largely developed since that time. Through the establishment of efficient transportation facilities and modern refrigerator-car service, the California growers have been enabled to distribute their fruit over practically every State in the Union. In the early days of the industry, the Florida orange growers did not have to meet the keen competition which has developed in recent years, and therefore the condition of their fruit upon its arrival in the market did not affect the selling price as much as it does at present. The market demand for Florida oranges was strong, and fair prices were usually obtained in spite of the presence of considerable decay. As the production increased just prior to 1894-95, less favorable prices were being received, and at the time of the freeze efforts were being made to extend the market both at home and abroad and to produce fruit of better keeping quality.

The formation during that period of the Florida Fruit Exchange may be considered as an effort among the growers to obtain better marketing conditions, induced, it is thought, by the necessity of improving the quality and condition of fruit in the markets. Although the Exchange failed to accomplish the special object for which it was created, it did prove that Florida oranges often failed to reach the northern markets in sound condition. Notwithstanding the general impre&sion now current among growers that the decay of oranges was unknown before 1894, it seems to be well established that for many years the fruit has shown considerable waste.

A few reports taken from the current issues of the trade papers will serve to show that even at that time the decay problem was of considerable importance. In the issue of December 23, 1893, of "The Florida Despatch Farmer and Fruit Grower," under the Buffalo-New York fruit-^ales letter, a statement was made which is characteristic of many others and serves to illustrate the wasted condition in which the fruit often reached the market. This report reads, in part:

Very sorry to report that the fruit is still coming forward in poor condition. . . . About 1,400 boxes, good and bad, mostly all of which showed more or less decay, averaged $1.51.

Under date of December 2, 1893, the following report is given:

The dealers and handlers throughout the country are worn out with the constant labor of repacking, in the effort to save something out of the ruins of the decay, and to save the fruit from going bodily to the dump. Buyers are afraid to take hold, because they have no assurance of getting an article that will hold together until they can get rid of it.

Out of 19 telegraphic reports, 12 mention fruit showing decay, using such remarks as: "Both much decayed," "Some lots in very bad order," "Oranges mostly decayed," and "Very rotten." It will thus be seen that the conditions which are conducive to the occurrence of decay were present in the early days of the industry.

' Mead, Theodore L. The orange. Article in Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, 1901, p. 1154.

V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

With the extension of the plantings consequent upon the reestablishment of the industry, and the resulting increase in production, existing conditions have been largely responsible for the improper handling of the fruit, -which has been shown by later investigations to be the fundamental factor underlying the occurrence of decay. Many of the new groves established since the freeze have been planted on pine land, where it has been necessary to use heavy applications of fertilizers. Frequently the fertilizers have been selected with the purpose of producing large crops rather than fancy fruit, and this seems to have been at the expense of quality, thus partly accounting for the large proportion of rough and unattractive oranges now to be found in the Florida crop. The production of large quantities of rather coarse and uninviting fruit has in turn led to rough and careless handling, for, as a general rule, the more attractive the fruit the greater will be the incentive to handle it carefully when preparing it for shipment.

In addition to the freeze, unfavorable conditions have existed which have more or less discouraged many growers and which have led to the production of inferior fruit, with a correspondingly increasing tendency to place it on the market in a manner not conducive to the best results. The control of the white fly, which has spread over practically every citrus district in Florida, has been a serious problem. Fruit which has been rendered unattractive through the attacks of this pest presents one of the most discouraging problems which growers have to solve, for it is difficult to make workmen who pick, grade, and pack unattractive fruit realize the importance of careful handling. The sooty-mold fungus follows the attacks of the white fly, covering the leaves and fruit with a dense black growth which detracts greatly from the appearance of the oranges, and in order to prepare this smutty fruit for market, cleaning is absolutely necessary. The effects of the cleaning processes upon the carrying quality of the fruit will be described later.

The market demands high-grade, well-packed fruit. As long as the supply of a commodity does not equal the demand, a poorer grade or a less attractive package may yield satisfactory returns to the shipper. With keen competition, however, and markets well stocked with good, carefully selected fruit arriving in sound condition, the packer of a poor grade of fruit which frequently arrives in bad order is at a great disadvantage and suffers accordingly.

METHODS OF HANDLING THE FLORIDA ORANGE CROP.

The Florida orange begins to ripen in late October or early November, and the shipping season extends until spring, some growers of late varieties even holding their fruit on the trees until summer. Shipments are usually heavy during December, and in the past approximately 50 per cent of the crop has been shipped before Christmas. In fact, there has been a strong tendency to begin moving the fruit before it has reached full maturity. This practice has been stimulated because it frequently happens that these early shipments give satisfactory returns, and fruit moved at this time runs no risk of being frozen later in the season. The practice of placing on the market larse quantities of green fruit of poor eating quality is very objectionable, however, and does not stimulate future consumption of the product.

During the past few years the tendency has been toward lengthening the marketing season. Instead of attempting to dispose of the bulk of the crop before the holidays, when a large proportion of the fruit has not reached full quality, the season has gradually been extended, so that Florida citrus fruits are now moved in large quantities until the first of April, and even later. The influence of these changed conditions upon the occurrence of decay and deterioration at the market eud will be apparent in the later discussion of the occurrence of decay at different times during the shipping

SHIPMENT OF ORANGES FROM FLORIDA.

PICKING THE FRUIT.

Harvesting methods. — In harvesting the orange, it is necessary to sever the fruit from the trees by means of clippers or shears, the common type being a sharp-pointed clipper, such as is illustrated on the left in figure 2. Various other types are also in use at the present time, two of which are shown in figure 2.

Since many of the orange trees in Florida are large, only a small proportion of the fruit can be reached from the ground. The ordinary straight ladder, placed directly against the tree, is in common use. In order to secure all of the fruit at the top or in the center of the tree, the picker must stretch over a considerable distance, and he is very liable to pull many of the oranges which he can not conveniently sever with his clippers. Worse than this, however, it has not been uncommon to see the fruit on the ends of the limbs shaken off and allowed to drop to the ground, later to be picked up and placed in the field boxes along with the fruit properly handled.

Over the picker's shoulder is thrown a basket or bag in which the fruit is placed as clipped. The picking bag is sometimes an ordinary grain bag or gunny sack holding about 30 pounds of fruit; formerly, some men used a specially constructed bag which fastened around the body and frequently held nearly enough fruit to fill one of the boxes. The canvas-covered basket shown in Plate I, figure 1, holds approximately half of a box of fruit. Another type of picking receptacle, illustrated in Plate I, figure 2, has a hinged bottom which may be let down when emptying the fruit.

The most common bag now in use is one made of heavy canvas and open at the bottom, so that the filled bag can be placed in the box and the fruit allowed to roll out gently.

Field boxes. — The fruit is poured from the picking receptacle into a field crate or box. The box in general use is about 28 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 13$ inches deep, has a capacity of a little more than one packed box of fruit, and may or may not have a central partition. Both types are illustrated in Plate I, figures 1 and 2. The size of this box was established through the practice of buying large quantities of fruit on the tree at a fixed price per box. Originally this price was intended to be per "packed box, "but since it is more convenient to keep the record of the fruit as it leaves the grove, this type of field box, which holds enough fruit to allow culling and still give the buyer a packed box of oranges, was developed . Other kinds of field boxes, some of which are superior to the old box, are in use to a limited extent. Plate II, figure 1, shows a type of grocer's delivery crate which some growers use for handling their oranges.

The boxes in common use are constructed of such heavy material and hold such larg« quantities of fruit that it is impossible to handle theni with sufficient care. When loading them on the field wagon or unloading them at the packing house, or even when moving them about in the house, they oftentimes strike the floor with sufficient force to cause some of the fruit to bound out. The objection commonly raised to making boxes of lighter material is that the workmen will break them by rough handling, especially when throwing them off the wagon in the field. It is a question, however, whether the average laborer will not treat a lighter box more carefully than he will a heavy iron-bound one, which tempts him to see how roughly he can handle it.

Fig. 2. — Three types of clippers used in picking Florida citrus fruits.

Plate II, figure 2 shows that the effort to make a field box strong enough to withstand "bucking" is not always successful. While it is difficult to estimate the amount of damage which may result from the use of such boxes., it is apparent that this is very great.

An enumeration of some of the injuries received in picking will be found under the discussion of the causes of blue-mold decay.

HAULING THE FRUIT.

The fruit is hauled from the grove to the packing house on ordinary farm wagons, which are often springless, or on specially provided wagons belonging to an association. The owner of the grove or the manager of the packing house sometimes personally superintends this transfer, but frequently it is done by contract with the owner of a livery stable. There is usually a fixed price for this service, one large contractor receiving 2 cents per box per mile, which is about the average of what is paid in different parts of the State. The drivers are often ignorant of the importance of careful handling, and their methods of loading and unloading are extremely crude and rough. It is not uncommon to see them sitting on boxes of fruit as they ride to the packing house. The haul may be long and over rough roads (PL III, fig. 1), some packing houses handling many boxes of fruit from groves 12 or 15 miles distant, or even farther. Ox teams are often used for such long hauls (PI. Ill, fig. 2). It has e*en been the custom, in the past, to carry many oranges loose in the wagon box, the unloading being done with shovels or in other rough ways (PI. IV, fig. 1). This practice has been done away with, however, as it is recognized that good results can never be obtained by such careless methods. Along with the numerous improvements which have been effected during the past two or three years in the manner of hauling fruit from the grove to the packing house, must be reckoned the State-wide movement for better roads.

PREPARING THE FRUIT FOR SHIPMENT.

Buildings and ynachinery. — Packing houses are usually located in villages and towns along the railroad lines or in places accessible to water transportation. Many boxes of fruit, however, are packed either openly in the groves or in houses located near the farm buildings and are then hauled to a shipping point. Little attempt was made until recently to build houses especially designed for packing citrus fruit. The average building usually had a capacity for handling not more than one car a day, very little machinery being used in the old houses and the boxes being made by hand, frequently in some place outside the packing house. This building generally consisted of but one room, the sizing machine being located in the center, a little below the main portion of the house, in what is called the "pit." One common source of trouble, even in the new-style houses, is the attempt to save floor space. The machinery may be so adjusted that the orange has to follow a long and complicated path, around abrupt angles, down gravity runs, and up unnecessary elevators, whereas in a majority of cases the same end could have been attained at less expense by means of a more simple arrangement. Simplicity should be the watchword in the adjustment of all packing-house equipment. Some houses have gone to the other extreme of doing practically all the work by hand, thus eliminating the expense of carrying belts and other automatic devices. The character of the workmen is then of fundamental importance, and it is d< mbtful whether, in the long run, hand work can be accomplished with as little injury as results from the use of properly adjusted, simple machinery.

Fruit which was clean and did not require washing was formerly poured into a hopper and rolled by gravity in front of the grader to the sizing machine. The latter was sometimes run by power, but more often it was treadled by the man who did the grading. As the oranges were sized they fell into different bins and from these were

Plate I.

Fiq. 1.— Emptying Oranges from a Picking Bag into a Field Crate, Showing an Incorrect Method, which Results in the Serious bruising of the Fruit.

Fig. 2.— Florida Field Crate Without a Central Partition and One Type of Small Picking Receptacle Opening at the Bottom to Avoid Bruising the Fruit by Dropping.

PICKING RECEPTACLES AND FIELD BOXES FOR FLORIDA CITRUS

FRUITS.

Plate II.

Fig. 1 .—Grocers' Deliver/ Crates Used by Some Growers for Holding Oranges.

This crate supplies maximum ventilation and has no sharp corners or projections to injure the fruit.

Fig. 2.— Broken Field Crates.

The splinters, sharp edges, and projecting nails are common sources of serious injury to Florida

citrus fruits.

TYPES OF FIELD BOXES FOR CITRUS FRUITS IN FLORIDA.

Bui. 63, U. S. Dept. of Agnculture.

Plate Mr.

i

Fig. 1.— Haulinq Oranges Over Rough Roads on Wagons Without Springs.

The jolting and jarring and the driver seated directly upon the fruit result in serious injury.

Fig. 2.— Hauling Oranges by Teams of Oxen Hitched to Springless Wagons.

TRANSPORTING FRUIT FROM THE GROVE TO THE PACKING HOUSE

IN FLORIDA.

Bui t"3, U. S Dept of Agriculture

Plate IV.

Fig. 1.— Grapefruit Carried Loose in the Bed of a Springless Wagon and Piled

in the Grove.

Note that the wagon driver is in the act of throwing fruit from the wagon to the pile.

Fig. 2.— One Type of Orange Washer now in Use in Florida.

packed out (PI. V, figs. 1 and 2). In most of the houses at the present time the fruit is carried in front of the graders on canvas belts to the sizing machines, which arc usually run by power. The majority of the packers now wish to ship their fruit as soon after picking as possible. Some, however, still keep it for a couple of days to wilt or "cure," as the process is called.

Cleaning. — During the past few years cleaning the fruit has become more and more necessary because of the spread of the white fly. At the present time probably 75 per cent of the Florida orange crop is cleaned either by washing or by the sawdust method. Until some method of controlling the white fly has been discovered, it will be necessary to continue these processes and even to extend them to a larger proportion of the fruit.

Various methods of washing are used, and many different types of washers are now in operation in the State. Some of the machines developed and used extensively in California have been installed, and other types have originated in Florida. The fruit is either dumped into a small hopper leading to a tank of water or is emptied directly into the water, and the cleaning process consists of passing the fruit, either while in the water or while still wet, over or between rapidly moving brushes, which remove the sooty coating from the skin (PL IV, fig. 2, and PL VI, fig. 1). A number of washers are used in which the cleansing is done by means of sponges or rags. After the fruit has been washed it is run through "artificial" forced-air blast driers or else elevated to drying racks (PL VI, fig. 2) and when dried is ready to be graded and sized.

Another method of cleaning citrus fruits, especially grapefruit, is with sawdust. Large horizontal cylinders are completely filled with fruit, a few pounds of wet sawdust are added, and the cylinders are then revolved for 8 or 10 minutes by hand or other power. The movement of the sawdust over the surface of the fruit rubs off much of the dirt and sooty mold. No drying is required after this process (PI. VII, fig. 1).

Grading. — There are no set rules for grading oranges and grapefruit in Florida. As a rule, only two classes are made, "blights" and "russets," in addition to a poorer grade which is shipped to near-by markets. The bright fruit is that which is free from the effects of the work of the rust mite, a small mite which punctures the oil cells in the skin of the fruit, causing the surface to become brownish in appearance. The russet grade is composed of fruit more or less affected by the work of the rust mite. Fruit affected with melanose, a disease common in many sections, is also usually placed in the russet grade. The russeting due to the work of the rust mites is quite characteristic of the Florida orange and has been almost a trade-mark for the fruit, the general impression prevailing in the North that such oranges are a distinct variety grown only in Florida. Consequently, this grade frequently brings as much money as bright fruit. It has never been determined that the work of the rust mites affects the quality of an orange or grapefruit. The number of mites varies considerably in different localities and even in groves in the same locality, and when present they may be largely controlled by the use of sulphur sprays or by dry sulphur blown upon the trees.

A few packing houses in the State make more than two grades. The finest of the bright fruit may be packed as "fancy," or some of the brightest russets may be labeled "golden." There are no uniform rules in the State, however, and similar grades of fruit from different packing houses may be sold under different names. Moreover, all grading is without reference to the size of the fruit. As one man grades a car or more of fruit each day, the work can not be done very thoroughly. There is a string tendency at present to establish more definite grades and to secure better methods of grading (PI. VII, fig. 2).

The sizes of Florida oranges vary from 80 to 420 fruits in a box, some fruit occasionally falling outside even these wide limits. The common sizes are 126, 150, 17G,

8 BULLETIN 63, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

and 200 oranges to a box. When only two grades of fruit are made, a double sizing machine is commonly used, and both grades are sized at the same time (PI. VIII, figs. 1 and 2).

The Florida grapefruits are packed with 28, 36, 46, 54, 64, 72, 80, or 96 fruits to the box, the most desirable sizes being 46, 54, and 64. The ''Standards" vary frum 54 to 80. Fruits packed 46 to the box and larger are known as "large off sizes," grapefruit being occasionally offered as large as 18 to the pack. This is more of a novelty than a commercial proposition, however. The ''small off sizes" are those packed 96 to the box and smaller. Some of the regular orange-sizing machines can be adjusted for the sizing of grapefruit, but few of them are wholly satisfactory, on account of the variation in shape of the fruit.

Packing. — Many houses now employ girls and women as packers, although formerly the work was done almost exclusively by men, who were usually paid by the day- High-grade work is done on the average, and considerable care is taken to have each orange put in its place with a little pressure. This makes a firm pack and one which is smooth and of good appearance. The box is filled an inch or more above the top, and when the cover is put on pressure is used to bring the fruit at the ends even with the top of the box. A few shippers fill their boxes much higher than this, thereby making necessary considerable pressure in order to nail on the cover. This type of package, known as the "bulge pack," was developed to meet the buyers' demands for a full box of fruit on arrival in market. High packing is often an excuse for poor packing, however, since oranges which are laid in the box loosely and without pressure must be forced into place when the cover is nailed on, thereby increasing the liability of crushing the fruit in the top layers. A pack which is of medium height, with every orange firmly in place, is less liable to be injured in transit than is a high, loose pack, and the fruit will arrive in market with a more attractive appearance and will remain in good condition for a longer period.

The "nailer" takes the box after it is packed, and holding the cover across the fruit with both hands, he gives the box two or three sharp jolts upon the floor, first at one end, then at the other, before nailing it fast. Box presses are in use in a number of houses in the State. Whether the nailing is done by hand or with the aid of a press, care should be exercised to avoid injuring the contents of the top layer against the sides and ends of the box. Some pressmen have the habit of adjusting the covers after pressure has been applied by tapping the ends of the slats, but this scratches or rasps the fruit on top and serious injury sometimes results. The beveled ends, sides, and center pieces which are coming into general use are of great value in preventing injuries during the nailing operation.