The bitter harvest: How the global citrus industry sacrificed flavor and variety for shipping logistics

“ We may take judicial notice of the fact that the raising of citrus fruits is one of the great industries of the state of Florida. It was competent for the legislature to find that it was essential for the success of that industry that its reputation be preserved in other states wherein such fruits find their most extensive market. ”

“ Citrus fruit occupies a central and indeed pervasive role in the economy of Florida. That state's well-being is dependent on the cultivation of the citrus crop, its packing, transportation, financing and exporation. The appropriateness of regulations to be adopted for the citrus fruit industry is thus peculiarly a matter for the legislature of Florida in whose keeping is the shaping of that state's social and economic policy. ”

“ But the orange itself, which is so hardy, has an advantage over many other varieties of fruits and can be shipped into any market in the world. For the citrus fruit is not perishable in the same sense that the plums and peaches are and after being removed from the trees may be kept for weeks with advantage without being destroyed by decay or losing its beauty. ”

“ Those who have not been privileged to visit an orangery and there taste the nature-ripened fruit in all its golden lusciousness cannot know fully how delicious an orange may be. The orange that goes to market and must wait weeks before it can get out of the hands of the retailer and into those of the consumer is packed before it is ripe, and few fruits gathered unripe can ever be as delicious as those which have hung on the spit of the twig and toasted to a proper flavor before the sun. ”

“ What the enlightened public wants is not only Flavor, but variety in Flavor. Pomologist William A. Taylor of the United States Bureau of Plant Industry has penned a maxim which dealers cannot ponder too much. "Attractive diversity in appearance and quality stimulates a demand for fruit among consumers." Yet, as another Government expert attests, "there has for many years been a strong tendency in the American [536] fruit trade to urge fruit-growers to reduce the number of varieties in their commercial plantations." The results we see in our markets. ”

“ It is, indeed, such an exquisite fragrance that one would imagine the importers and dealers would think of it, above all things, as a bait to allure purchasers. But no; most of these gentlemen attach, [535] as we have seen, chief importance to keeping and shipping qualities.
The consequence of this pennywise policy is that about one-tenth as many pineapples are sold in our markets as would be if the Commercial Value of Flavor were fully recognized.
The canners, it is instructive to note, have benefited by the mistake of their competitors. ”

“ Many of the smaller oranges are just as good to eat and sometimes very much better than the larger sizes, and the condition of the skin, unless it happens to be broken in any way so that germs of decay can enter, ordinarily has no depreciable effect upon the flavor. The public, of course, finally judges an orange by its sweetness and tenderness, and a large, well-colored, smooth fruit is likely to reach the market in better condition than the rougher fruit which has a marred skin. ”

“ WANT OF FLAVOUR. One great fault noticeable in fruit-growing of recent years is that everything is sacrificed to size and appearance, flavour being at a discount; the shows have had a great deal to do with this; in the old days, when they were fewer in number, the test of a fruit was its taste. Strawberries in particular have deteriorated in this way, the huge kinds now seen often being absolutely devoid of the luscious flavour generally associated with them. ”

“ If our market is one in which strawberries are sold simply as such, without much regard to flavor or size, there is not the same inducement to produce fine fruit. But even when quantity is the chief object, deeply prepared and enriched land retains that essential moisture of which we have spoken, and enables the plant not only to form, but also to develop and mature, a great deal of fruit. In the majority of markets, however, each year, size and beauty count for more, and these qualities can be secured, even from a favorable soil, only after thorough preparation and enriching. ”

“ Unfortunately, the difference of price between inferior and superior coffee is not sufficiently great to cover so many years’ interest on the capital invested. It is for the same reason that planters, though they are perfectly aware that trees growing on a light soil, and in dry and elevated spots, produce smaller berries of very superior flavour to those grown in rich, flat, and moist soils, yet prefer cultivating the latter, simply because the production is double that of the better sort. ”

“ When the orange, lime, citron, or common lemon become established under conditions that are favourable for their proper development, they apparently become as hardy as the indigenous plants, and are able to hold their own against them, thus showing how well the climate and suitable soils of coastal Queensland are adapted for the cultivation of citrus fruits. ”

“ The general remarks I have given respecting our fruit soils apply with equal force to those best adapted for citrus culture—viz., they must possess perfect drainage, and be of a friable nature. We are growing most of the best varieties of citrus fruit, the original trees from which they are now being propagated having been introduced into the State from the most celebrated citrus-producing districts in the world, and, as stated and shown by the accompanying illustrations, they are all doing well. ”

“ At the present time there are hundreds of citrus trees growing practically wild in different parts of the coastal country that are in vigorous health and producing heavy crops of good fruit, even though they are uncultivated, unpruned, unmanured, and have to hold their own against a vigorous growth of native and introduced shrubs, trees, and weeds. ”

“ Any member of the citrus family, whether citron, shaddock, orange, lemon, or lime, may be raised from seeds with the greatest ease, and every seedling plant will become fruitful when of a proper age to produce fruit, provided it has the advantage of proper management. As a matter of course, a large proportion of the pretty little seedlings we meet with in ladies’ plant houses and window gardens are not properly managed, and are not likely to live to a fruit producing age. ”

“ They are generally potted in black mud, low down in the pots, as if mud were a scarce article; they are watered and ventilated by accident rather than by system, and their tenacity of life affords a delightful proof of the accommodating spirit of the citrus tribe, which have this good quality at least, that they love life too well to be easily pushed out of it. We repeat that every seedling citrus will produce fruit some day if you only wait long enough and manage the plants properly. ”

“ When grown under favourable conditions, citrus-trees are heavy bearers in this State, it being no uncommon thing to meet with seedling or worked orange-trees of from ten to twelve years of age producing over twenty cases of marketable fruit to the tree, averaging about 10 dozen medium-sized fruit. ”

“ The soil in many of the inland districts is well suited to the culture of citrus fruits, and when the trees are given the necessary water, and are uninjured by frost, they produce excellent fruit. I stated, some short distance back, that there is probably no country in the world that is better adapted to the cultivation of or that can produce the various kinds of citrus fruits to greater perfection or with less trouble than the eastern seaboard of Queensland. ”

“ The sample of cashew preserves examined had the following composition:
Citrus Fruits. —The term “citrus fruit” is applied to that class of fruits represented by the orange, lemon, grape fruit, and lime. In the United States extensive areas are devoted to the production of citrus fruits, and it is claimed by connoisseurs that some of the best varieties grown anywhere in the world are the products of this country. Florida and southern California are two localities where the development of the citrus fruit industry has been carried to the greatest extent. ”

“ Mentone is pre-eminently the district of lemons and oranges, grown here for the fruit, and not, as at Grasse, for the flower. Lemons at Mentone are more numerous than oranges. They are not so beautiful, as the fruit has not the golden hue of the orange—it is green or pale sulphur yellow. The fruit of the orange tree will bear 7° Fahr. below freezing point without being seriously affected, but the lemon tree is much more sensitive, and is killed by 8° ”

“ The so-called grape fruit or pomelo is one of the biggest products of the citrus family and also possesses properties which may be regarded as a cross between the lemon and the orange. It is more acid than the orange and more sweet than the lemon. This fruit is perhaps more highly esteemed than any other citrus variety for direct edible purposes, forming a breakfast dish which is eaten very extensively throughout all parts of the United States by those who are able to afford the luxury, for so it still is by reason of the high price of the product. ”

“ Note.—To render this dish more economical, substitute milk for the cream, but add a small pinch of isinglass to make the creams firm.
SEVILLE ORANGE (Citrus vulgaris) .—This variety, called also bitter orange, is of the same species as the sweet orange, and grows in great abundance on the banks of the Guadalquiver, in Andalusia, whence this fruit is chiefly obtained. In that part of Spain there are very extensive orchards of these oranges, which form the chief wealth of the monasteries. The pulp of the bitter orange is not eaten raw. ”

“ The fruit of a tree, Citrus medica, indigenous to northern India, but largely cultivated in the countries situated around the Mediterranean and in other countries. It is cultivated both for the pleasant acid juice of the fruit and for their fragrant rinds. Only the latter are of value for our purposes. It occurs in European commerce under the name of Citronat or citron peel. Good commercial citron peel should be29 in quarters and as fresh as possible, which is shown by its softness, the yellow color, and the strong odor. Old peel looks shrunken and brownish and has but little pleasant odor. ”

“ One pound sterling is a common sum, and not infrequently as much as seventy shillings are given for a single "Citron of Law." The fruit is used at the Feast of Tabernacles according to a command given in the Book of the Law; it is not of an edible nature, but is handed round and smelt by the worshippers as they go out, when they "thank God for all good things, and for the sweet odours He has given to men." This citron is considered to be almost miraculously restorative, especially by those who regard it as the "tappnach," intended in the text, "Comfort me with apples." ”

“ Citrus excelsa var. davaoensis.
A thorny, arborescent shrub of straggly habit, with interlocking, drooping branches, and of vigorous growth; young growth green with tinge of purple; leaves 8.5 to 13.5 centimeters long, 3.8 to 5 centimeters wide, ovate to oblong ovate, crenulate to serrulate; base rounded; apex sometimes [27] retuse; petiole 16 to 30 millimeters long, with wings ordinarily narrow, in large leaves sometimes 15 millimeters wide; flowers not seen; fruit 6.4 centimeters long, 8 centimeters in equatorial diameter, weighing 317 grams, oblate ”

“ Progress in Sugar Manufacture 57
[Contents]
Illustrations. Plate I. Plant propagation shed at Lamao Experiment Station Frontispiece. Facing page— II. Citrus Fruits: (a) Talamisan; (b) Tizon; (c) Philippine Pomelo 16 III. Herbarium Specimens of Citrus: (a) Talamisan; (b) Alemow; (c) Limao 16 IV. Citrus Fruits: (a) Canol; (b) Cabuyao; (c) Limao 16 V. Herbarium Specimens of Citrus: (a) Canci; (b) Cabuyao; (c) Biasong 16 VI. Citrus Fruits: (a) Tihi-tihi; (b) Biasong; (c) Alemow 16 VII. Herbarium Specimens of Citrus: (a) Colo-Colo; (b) Samuyao ”

“ Citrus nobilis Lour. Mandarin.
A small tree 3.6 to 6 meters in height, with a dense head of upright or willowy, drooping branches; bark dark brownish or streaked with gray; branchlets light green or dark in color, small, slender, round or angled, thornless, or provided with small sharp spines; leaves small, lanceolate to oval, slightly crenate; petioles short, wingless, or with very small wings; flowers terminating the branchlets or axillary, sometimes clustered, 18 to 25 millimeters across, sweet scented; calyx small, shallow, cupped, the petals small; petals white, fleshy, recurved ”

“ Here again the prospective settler was advised to start citrus fruit groves, to the exclusion of forage and other crops from which immediate returns would have encouraged the farmer, and permitted him to live economically while making up his mind as to the advisability of citrus fruit culture, which is a specialized form of horticulture, requiring much technical knowledge, and a great deal of experience to insure satisfactory results. ”

“ It is possible to bud as you propose, and it is not necessary to go back to the old stock. Work in above the forks.
No Citrus Fruits on Lemon Roots.
Would it be any advantage to bud the Washington Navel on grapefruit and lemon roots?
The grapefruit or pomelo is a good root for the orange, and some propagators prefer it. The lemon root is not used at present, because of its effect in causing a coarse growth of tree and fruit and because it is more subject to disease than the orange root. In fact, we grow nearly all lemons on orange roots. ”

“ Although citrus fruits are subject to many pests, they are for the most part easily kept in check by either spraying or cyaniding, or both, provided that reasonable care is taken, and the pests are destroyed before they have obtained control. Taken as a whole, our citrus fruits are remarkably clean, and compare more than favourably with those grown in the Southern States. ”

“ But when the fruit is allowed to become ripe, which is not when it first turns red, but when the seeds have become dark brown and the berries assume a mahogany color, then will its true richness and flavor be developed, and the fruit be found to possess that commingling of sweet and sour which is sprightly, refreshing and agreeable. For those whose taste demands a greater degree of sweetness, sugar may be added without destroying the flavor, but they will be few who will require much addition of saccharine beyond that which the perfectly ripened berry yields. ”

“ In mandarins, all kinds do remarkably well, and I never saw this fruit produced to greater perfection in any part of the world than it is in Queensland. The varieties most commonly grown are: The Emperor or Canton, the Scarlet or Scarlet Emperor, Thorny or Tangerine, and Beauty of Glen Retreat, though there are many types of seedlings in addition to these well-known sorts. The grape fruit which is now so popular in America does well, but, so far, has not taken on in our markets. Citrons grow practically wild, and produce good fruit, for which there is a limited demand for peel. ”