ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14144, 20 August 1909, Page 8

ON THE LAND.

MARKETING LEMONS.

The Pacific Rural Press, dealing with the manner in which lemons are handled in California, says:--- , j .

1. Some are sufficiently coloured when they are. picked from tho tree, and are shipped to the market as quickly as possible. Tho so-called " tree-ripo" lemons are usually segregated and go to tho market as t inferior fruit, it being ', generally agreed that tree-ripo lemons do not have as good keeping qualities as tho fruit which is pick- | ed green and coloured artificially.

2. "Sweated fruit" is picked green when the proper diameter is reached, and coloured rapidly by storage in moist, tight, sweat rooms or sweating tents in which a high temperature is maintained, usually by means of oil stoves burning in ', the room with the lemons or in a cellar-like room below tho fruit and separated from the storago room by slatted floors. The humidity and heat, and perhaps carbon dioxide and other. gaseous products of combustion, acting together bring about a rapid colouration of the fruit. Sweating is usually resorted to only when the price of lemons is high and. a rapid marketing of the crop is desired. It is generally agreed among lemon-growers that sweated lemons are less likejy to keep than those coloured more gradually at a lower temperature. Since the conditions maintained in sweat rooms are highly unnatural and the result is obtained in a most unnatural way, some attention has been given to the physiological factors involved in sweating.

3. By far the larger part of, the lemon crop' is picked when the desired diameter of the fruit is reached, and this is coloured up by " curing" at low temperatures in the packing-houses. In some places where tho viator loss from the fruit is likely to be relatively easy to control, an open floor covered by a roof is sufficient for a permanent storage structure In order to enable the manager to modify conditions to suit tho needs of the individual lots, the lemons, in boxes or trays, are piled up in carload lots, and each pilo i.3 covered by a heavy canvas tent; of which the sides and ends many be raised or lowered at will. In those regions whero water loss is less readily controlled, the storing house is boarded up with tho usual walls and ends. To secure uniformity of conditions with even greater ease, some growers have made use of the cellars under the- houses. Lemons coloured by this slow " curing" process may remain in-tho tents or collars as long as six months or more, if market conditions require it, but usually fruit is marketed much sooner.

In grading and packing the fruit for market, some lemon-houses handle the sweated and tent-cured sorts separately, but this is not the invariable rule.

Lemons are known to be a most variable fruit in their physical characteristics. Not only is this true of trees of any given variety, but in some cases is also true of the different fruits taken from the individual tree. The manner of handling watei and fertilisers is commonly believed to bo of great importance in getting smooth, wellshaped lemons. The lemon varies in general from a- barrel shape to an almost spherical form marked by more or less pronounced protuberant ends. Thick and conspicuous ends detract from the value of the fruit. The best size of lemon weighs on the average 120 to 135 grams. Of course size is not. the only factor which determines the weight, much,, depending, on the rind, quantity of juice, and general solidity of the fruit. The most desirable sizes of lemons average 300 and 360 to the box.

There are usually three grades of lemons, known as " fancy," " choice," and \" standard." The grades depend on the general texture of the fruit, the form, and the colour. The» sizes vary from 180 to 540 to the box, but few lemons are packed larger than-240 or smaller than tho 490 per box.

VALUE OF SKIM MICK. „.It is stated that in New Zealand and Australia tho value of skimmed milk for pigfeeding is usually put. down at |d per gallon, and whey at id. Even then it is held by some that the chance of getting this value back through the pigs depends very much on the skill of the pig-keeper. It gives some pleasant encouragement, therefore, to find that in Ireland the value of skimmed milk fed to pigs has been definitely ascertained to bo 2d per gallon. Such an estimate will surprise dairy-farmers of Australasia, and may stimulate tho demand for State experiments in pig-raising. v With the progress of pasteurising in relation to the milk and whey foods, the question of the proper methods of pig-feeding is likely to attract increased attention. In the green isle the pigs which were fed on jajlk, meal, and potatoes matured in three months, while those from whom the milk was withheld took five months to reach the same stage. Th© latter also consumed 5201b of food to produce 1001b of live weight, as against only 3821b required where milk was added.